Sadie hadn’t been following what Abigail was saying. She had forgotten to strengthen her charm before supper, andstruggled to pay attention to the words spoken rather than the thoughts flying at her. Nicholas, she knew, didn’t have that same excuse for distraction, but he didn’t seem to be following along any better.
He grunted a vaguely positive agreement at Abigail and looked pointedly at Sadie. “What did you get up to the rest of this afternoon?”
His thoughts focused on images of her at the spring, and Sadie was grateful when Jane hopped into the conversation and responded for her. “She helped me in the brewing room.”
Why is he so interested in Sadie? She’s old and boring and not even pretty.
The contrast between Abigail’s thoughts and Nicholas’s had Sadie clenching her teeth, trying not to react. She’d never been able to close off her power intentionally, but how open she was to hearing thoughts without her charm came and went in unpredictable waves. Tonight was a tsunami.
He’s supposed to be paying attention to me!
Distantly, Sadie was aware that Jane was still talking over her at Nicholas. “I was looking for a calming potion recipe after what happened the other day, and Sadie found one in an old grimoire. Not only that, but she copied it out for me, omitting all the little side notes witches seem to leave in the middle of their recipes, and I think she simplified the language of the steps, because it made so much more sense than the other recipes I looked at.”
“Most earth-witches include a concise version of the glyphs they used at the bottom for easy reference,” Nicholas answered her, though his eyes kept cutting back to Sadie. “Do water-witches not do that? I hate trying to find the important bits in the middle of stories about what they were doing that day, too.”
“They do, but those versions are so simplified I always feel like I’m going to miss an important step. But Sadie had noissues. I swear, she’d make a better witch than me. She even likes going to the forest!”
“You went into the forest with me.” Nicholas kept Jane engaged, but his thoughts weren’t on the younger witch.Sadie looks sick. Is she worried that Jane thinks she’s a witch, now?
She wasn’t worried. Not about that, at least. Her inability to manage her power, on the other hand, had her quite frightened. Thoughts were coming at her faster and faster, and she was struggling to keep track of everything.
Exactly the sort of situation that led to her betraying herself by responding to a thought rather than a spoken question.
“We were barely on the fringes of the forest,” Jane shuddered. “And even then it was so spooky. I really do think there are evil spirits lurking in the Gloaming Forest.”
“Actually, spirits are generally tied to very narrow geographical regions,” Beatrice announced. It took Sadie a moment to realize the lady had jumped into the conversation from Jane’s opposite side in truth and wasn’t just thinking her response. “Given the wide-ranging reports of hauntings in the Gloaming Forest, there would have to be a veritable army of spirits spread throughout, which seems unlikely. If the tales of hauntings aren’t a case of confirmation bias by nervous people having accidents, then a demon is far more likely to be the culprit than spirits.”
“A demon?” Lenora’s fingers spasmed and her fork fell. It clattered against the edge of the porcelain plate, the sound catching everyone’s attention. “Did you say there is a demon in the woods?”
“No,” Beatrice answered calmly. “I said a demon is more likely than malevolent spirits.”
This answer did not reassure Lenora. “A demon sent that bat after me?”
Her fear is delicious. It won’t take much to push her to her limit. I’ll feast on her fear.
Sadie tightened her grip on the fork in her hand, the dark thought catching her off guard. She tried to make use of the magic that cursed her, tried to track the thought back to the vicious mind where it originated, but her power didn’t work that way. She knew which thought went with which person from context and logic, not magic. The thought didn’t fit anyone in the room, even Abigail. Could there be a servant lurking in a doorway?
Sadie twisted toward the back of the room, where a narrow door led into a hallway connected to the kitchen, but she saw no one.
She turned back in time to see Abigail press a hand over her chest. “You must be cursed!” Abigail leaned away as if this supposed curse could be transferred via proximity. “How else would the demon have been able to target you?”
A few people tried to temper Abigail’s comment. Beatrice offered rational arguments, Madeleine a soothing reassurance. Their words tangled as they spoke at the same time, and Lenora began to wail.
Yes. I’ll scare them all.
“Is the calming potion ready?” Nicholas touched her arm. “Sadie?”
He’d said that aloud, right? “Yes, the calming potion is ready.”
He stood. “I’ll run and grab it.”Will I recognize it?
“Small vial, blue potion.” Sadie told him. She wanted to run out of the room with him, but even standing sounded too hard at the moment. Why was everyone thinking so loudly suddenly?
She pressed the heel of her hands against her eyes and tried to will the mental noise away. She couldn’t very well lick her thumb or dip it in the wine to trace the glyph on her amuletin front of everyone. But given the ruckus Lenora was causing, no one should notice her tracing the glyph without the aid of a liquid. She grabbed the agate at her throat and followed the familiar lines of the hidden glyph with her thumb. Without any water, her efforts barely dulled the cacophony.
Or maybe most of it was real and not mental. Her thumb still moving on the amulet, Sadie was able to take in everyone else at the table. Abigail was talking to Lenora in low tones. Given the way Lenora shuddered and cried harder, whatever she said was not comforting. Beatrice was still trying to explain that she hadn’t said there was a demon in the woods. Madeleine attempted to reassure everyone, but no one paid her any mind.
Nicholas rushed back into the room, the vial of calming potion in his hands. He removed the cork and held the tiny glass jar out to Lenora. She didn’t even notice. Abigail reached for the vial, but fumbled just as Nicholas let go. The liquid spilled directly on Lenora’s chest, startling her into silence.
