The Soul Thief

Chapter 13

I stood up so fast my knee slammed into the coffee table, sending stacks of paperwork cascading off and scattering across the floor, but I didn't care enough to catch them or see where they fell.

"It's not possible." My voice came out oddly high pitched as I fought to understand what was going on.

"It is." Albert said gently as he knelt to collect the fallen papers.

"It can't be. I'm pretty sure I'd know if... well I can't be full fae. I lived with my mum for years and I would have noticed if she sprouted wings and sprinkled pixie dust occasionally."

"I understand this is a shock for you, but I can confirm you are full fae, although your gifts appear to be blocked somehow. Whether that is due to lack of training, a spell or you rejecting them, I don't yet know." Albert rubbed a hand over the stubble on his chin thoughtfully. "We will need more sessions to explore it further."

"I will speak to Mrs Kennedy and have them arrange something for you." Inquisitor O'Connor nodded, scribbling away in earnest in his notebook.

"No." the word left my mouth before I could stop it.

The Inquisitor stopped writing and looked at me, his thin white brow raised slowly. "No?"

"No." I repeated, "If I had some sort of gift, I'd know about it. Albert's magic thing may look cool, but it's wrong."

He pursed his lips and looked me up and down slowly. "Ms Winters, you are new to this world, so I will forgive your blatant disrespect this once, but understand this. There are rules and there are those who can decide whether you live or die, whether you leave these walls or not. If you wish to spend a lifetime behind bars, then I suggest you continue behaving the way you are, but if not-"

"I think she gets the message, O'Connor." Albert admonished quietly, "The girl is just frightened and she has every right to be. It's a lot to adjust to and learn."

I looked at him in surprise. How did he know just what to say, just what it was that I was feeling?

"She should be afraid." The Inquisitor muttered, picking up his pen and continuing to write, "Is she a danger to anyone else? How strong is she?"

Albert shook his head. "It's impossible to say at this point. We barely accessed any of her gifts, just enough to know she's fae, but the rest we will have to uncover in time."

He rolled his eyes. "Can she access enough to harm someone or not?"

Albert shook his head. "I very much doubt it. I think she was as surprised to discover there was something there as we were."

The Inquisitor added one last thing to his notes and then looked up. "Very well. Ms Winters, you can return to your classmates. I will have a schedule sent to your dormitory with details of sessions you will be required to attend with Albert until we can discover the full extent of your gifts. In the meantime, I will have the staff here look into your parentage and see why you might have been brought up as a human."

His words seemed reasonable, but his attitude, and tone of voice really got my back up.

"I look forward to working with you Erica. Goodbye for now." Albert said firmly, before I could throw back my retort.

Meeting his eyes I sighed. If his expression said anything it was a reminder to pick my battles and maybe this was not the one. I nodded, "You too."

Stepping into the hallway was like lifting your head back above water after ducking under. The sound rushed back at me and laughter, chatter and the sound of students moving around filled my ears.