A Storm of Paper Starlings

29. Imagine I'm David Attenborough

NOTE: It's all about to get wonky 👀

***

Magnus frowns every time I look at him, but I can't help looking. The more I look, the more I know I'm missing something. I'll ask Amethyst about his aura because he doesn't look ready to admit anything, and I have so many questions.

When Amethyst turns up, she spends two whole minutes biting the inside of her cheek and refusing to speak when I ask her what's wrong. Eventually, she drops beside me beneath the gnarly tree and says, "Mara knows I've been visiting you."

"What did you tell her?"

"That I was curious and wanted to meet you. I skirted her questions, but she probably thinks I'll spy for her if she's accommodating about me seeing you."

"But you won't?"

"Not on your life," she says. "Even if I wanted to, I can't. I had Magnus bind my tongue the first night I came here."

"Bind your tongue? Sounds painful."

"It isn't. It just prevents me from talking about you. Magnus was worried I might talk in my sleep."

"What is Magnus?" I ask. "I mean, why would you recognise him by his aura?"

She shakes her head. "I can't tell you that. The bind will stop me."

"You can't speak about us at all? Not even to each other?"

"It's a subtle thing. There's, you know, nuance."

"I don't get what you can tell her about us anyway." I pick at the grass. "She must know the house is protected already, so what else is there?"

"Aye, she knows about the house, but she doesn't know what Magnus is, and she doesn't know about your powers."

"What? I don't have powers."

"Seriously?" Her mouth goes slack. "So, the boy at the bus stop threw himself on the ground, did he?"

"You said you saw me hit him."

"I did, but you didn't lay a finger on him."

"What? I did." Is she trying to trick me? "I know I did."

"You made the air... solid somehow." She uses her hands to re-enact the incident at the bus stop, and it reminds me of Leia. "You hit the air; the air hit him."

I fold my arms. "That's not even possible."

But then I remember Leia and her ghost theories. I remember how this happened before. Jay Garvey passed out against the wall at the museum. Me checking my shirt for signs of blood. A shiver snaps at my spine. Is this another perk of Sean's blood stalking my veins?

"This is ridiculous." Amethyst hauls me to my feet. "Come on."

She leads me inside, where we find Magnus in the drawing room playing chess with Archer.

"Magnus, you need to explain more to Violet. She's not listening to me, and there are things I can't tell her because of the bind. And she has these powers that... well, I think it would be useful for her to hone them, don't you?"

Archer glares at me. What's his problem? I bet he thinks I cheated the stuck cup out of the rack now.

Magnus frowns. "What powers?"

"She can make air solid and move it," she says, rubbing her throat.

"No, that's..." I shake my head. "I can't do that."

"You can. I saw you do it."

"But I don't know how."

Amethyst huffs. "Will you stop arguing and have faith in yourself?"