“Because … You are a witch. Are you not?”
“That’s an accusation in these times, girl. I peddle fortunes and knowledge.” The woman examined the nails of her gnarled hands.
Elizabeth took that as a yes and waited, fighting the urge to roll her eyes. She knew the woman was a witch, and the woman knew that she knew she was a witch.
After a moment, Risna extended a hand with her palm open. “For ten gold nobles, I’ll answer your questions.”
“Two,” Elizabeth countered. “They are not difficult questions.”
“Four. If you were not desperate, you would not be on my doorstep,” retorted the witch, reclining in her chair.
Elizabeth’s fingers tightened over her coin purse. Four gold nobles were far more than she was willing to spend, but desperation decided for her. Relenting, she slid the coins over the counter.
“Tell me—tell me about magic.”
“You’ll have to be more specific than that,” the woman said sharply. She looked around the room before leveling a scrutinous gaze at Elizabeth. “Magic is all-encompassing, and it is illegal even to discuss.”
“Then I will state my questions more plainly. What is a witch?”
“A witch is a woman gifted in the magical arts.”
At Elizabeth’s crestfallen expression, Risna chuckled.
“And how … did witches come to be?”
Risna peered at her as if she had finally asked an interesting question. “A witch is the offspring of a demon and a mortal. Witches are descendants of demons, which is where we get our powers.”
Elizabeth let out a breath and folded her hands on the table. “Can only witches havemagic?”
“Demons obviously have magic too. In rare cases, a human might have some kind of magical gift. No one should be practicing spells, of course, since it’s illegal. So, this is all hypothetical information,” Risna said, fixing Elizabeth with a piercing stare.
Despite her witch lineage, this woman was human as far as Elizabeth could tell. She had no claws, no sharp teeth, no black, depthless eyes.
Elizabeth chose her next words carefully. “What does magiclooklike?”
“You say the words to a spell, then something happens,” Risna said drily.
“Well, yes, but what kind of words? What are things that can happen?”
“Ancient language, girl, not spoken anymore. That’s the language we use for magic. The words direct the spell.”
“Why?”
“Why? Because it has always been so!” Risna rose and returned with a heavy tome. She opened the book, showcasing a curling script with accents above some of the letters. Elizabeth recognized it immediately as the same script that many of Caspian’s books were written in. “Some people call this the Godstongue.”
“Okay, so someone says something in an ancient language and casts a spell for something to happen. What kind of things is magic good for?”
“Everything, girl. Magic is energy. You could levitate objects, heal the sick, and transform one thing into another. You could manifest flame, water, fire.” Risna gestured towards the windows and raised her brows meaningfully. “Or protect yourself from demons.”
Elizabeth glanced at the windows and was surprised to see etched runes along the wood surrounding them. The doorway bore similar markings.
Protection against demons sounded … tempting.
“But then,” she asked, trying to make sense of what she’d learned, “if magic is limitless, why don’t those with magic use it for everything? Why would someone with magic ever pick up a plate or light candles by hand?”
“Because magic requiresenergy. It would cost as much energy to magically light a candle as it would to get up and light it with your hands. And! Most importantly, if the cost of the spell is too great, it will kill the caster.”
“What?” Elizabeth blanched.
