will never believe that. Never!'
He had to speak. He had to warn her.
'But Father said—'
To Kellen's astonishment, Idalia smacked him on the back of the head—hard enough to sting. She pushed him away, so that she could look into his eyes.
' 'Father said'—'Father said'—' Idalia mocked angrily. 'Father, in case you haven't figured it out for yourself by now, is a narrow-minded, utterly selfish brute without an ounce of human compassion who would say anything to anyone to get his own way. He told you the Wild Magic would turn you into a Demon, I suppose. Well, I'm telling you now that it is utterly impossible. Kellen. Look at me. I'll tell you the truth.'
Kellen looked up at her, his eyes filled with hope—and fear.
'This has gone on long enough. There's a tiny grain of truth in Father's words, and I'm going to tell you what it is. The Wild Magic teaches you to think for yourself. I've told you that, and you know it's true. Well, people who think for themselves can get into all kinds of trouble— including going over to the Demon side, because yes, there is a Demon side, and they're always looking for human tools. But to do that, a Wildmage has to give up the Wild Magic and everything that has to do with it. Do you understand, Kellen? No Wildmage can serve the Demons—not without ceasing to be a true Wildmage first. His Books will leave him. Yes, because Wildmages think and act for themselves, they can make bad choices and end up becoming evil. But the Wild Magic won't tolerate evil; when they make that choice, the Wild Magic itself stops serving them and stops answering them. The Wild Magic will leave, and something else will take its place. That's all the truth Lycaelon has on his side. All of it. But even a tiny thorn can fester,' she added, almost to herself.
'But…' Kellen said, gesturing toward the pool. It was clear and empty now, a spring-fed pool, nothing more.
'Did you ever consider you might be there because you were good!' Idalia said, more gently now. 'That you might be fighting the Demons? Or that your vision might be only, oh, a kind of truth, like a riddle, to make you think about things more clearly? Or that it might not happen for many, many years?'
'No,' said Kellen simply. 'But, Idalia, what if I decide to renounce the Wild Magic and become evil?'
'Then I'll knock you over the head, sew you into a sack, and sell you to the Selken Traders,' Idalia said promptly. 'I'm sure you won't be able to get into any trouble across the Sea.' She poked him in the ribs with a finger. 'You're beefy enough now, I should even get a good price for you. Deal?'
'Deal,' Kellen said with a shaky smile.
He felt as if a fever he hadn't known he'd been running had broken, or as if an actual thorn had been pulled from his flesh. It was strange, but it was far more reassuring to know that there were actually Demons out there who wanted Wildmages to corrupt than just thinking it might all be his own imagination. Idalia spoke of them as if they were just another danger to be faced, and down deep inside, Kellen had no doubts about his own courage—or hers.
'And at least we know you can work the scrying spell,' Idalia said, taking another deep steadying breath. 'And very thoroughly, too. Now it's my turn.'
'But— Now?' Kellen said in dismay. He'd been sure that after something like that, they were going to call it quits for the day.
'No time like the present,' she said briskly. 'Though if we end up back there again, I'm breaking out that bottle of mead I've been saving for a special emergency,' Idalia added, and she didn't sound at all humorous. 'And if that wasn't some kind of Teaching Vision, then… then we'd better figure out what to do about it, hadn't we?'
'But— But, Idalia?' Kellen asked. He knew this still wasn't a good time to ask, but he knew he had to. With that terrible vision still in the forefront of his mind, he knew that the time for doubts and secrets was over.
'Yes, Kellen?'
'If— If it's true— What you say— Then, why do you live here? You could live with the Elves—or, or, if you didn't want to do that, you could live in the Centaur village, and not—not out here in the middle of nowhere where you can't even take a bath? I was just…' Kellen stumbled to a halt, knowing he'd asked the question all wrong.
Idalia stared at him for a long moment, her face blank with surprise, then hugged him very hard. 'Oh, my poor mixed-up baby brother! You've been tying yourself into knots over that?. I live out here in the woods because I like to; I know you probably find this hard to believe, but when I'm around too many people, I start to feel uncomfortable and crowded. When you live even in a little village like Merryvale, you have to change what you do and how you act; maybe not by much, but it's a restriction. And I'll tell you another truth, if I lived in Merryvale, people would be coming to me to use Wild Magic for stupid little things all the time. I would either annoy them by refusing, or see my time and energy frittered away on nonsense. Living out here—well, they have to think very hard before they come to me.' She sighed, but smiled. 'It's as simple as that. People do like different things, you know. I like living alone, with no one to please but myself, and no one nagging me for love spells.' She kissed him gently on the forehead. 'Now finish your cider.'
She handed Kellen his tankard and went over to the stand of ferns to pluck her own leaf. Kellen drank, and
