The Thinking Woman's Guide to Real Magic by Emily Croy Barker Page A

breaking down in front of them. “Moscelle, who were those men? Why did they kidnap me?”
    Moscelle had plenty to say on the subject of the one-eyed man and the crippled wizard. The one-eyed man lived nearby and called himself a lord, Moscelle said, but he was only lord over a crumbling pile of stones and some mangy sheep and cows. He was always trying to pick fights with Ilissa—it was very annoying. The other man was a cruel and dangerous wizard—the Black Wizard, Moscelle called him. He’d had been to hell and learned his magic from the devils there, people said.
    â€œYou were lucky to get away. He hates us, and there are terrible stories about him.” Moscelle lowered her voice. “He murdered his wife. She was a beautiful young girl, much younger than he was. He stabbed her in a fit of rage. But don’t worry. Ilissa is a match for him.”
    â€œWhy do these people hate us?” Nora asked, frowning, a little surprised at this talk of wizards.
    Moscelle sketched a vague gesture. “There was a war once, and now we have a truce, but we still have to be on our guard. Someday we’ll defeat them for good. Ilissa can explain it better.”
    â€œWhy didn’t anyone tell me this before?”
    â€œOh, darling, no one wants you to worry about such things. And it’s really not that important. You just have to be a little careful so that you don’t go too close to the border by accident. I hope Ilissa’s not too furious with us. Leptospeer was supposed to keep track of where we were, but all he could think about was lunch, the pig.”
    â€œWell, it was me who wandered off.”
    â€œIt’s sweet of you to say that, darling. Do you think you could remember to mention that to Ilissa? I know that she could never be angry with you.”
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    Ilissa was waiting for them on the terrace, looking collected and lovely in a full-skirted white dress embroidered with pearls and gold thread. Nora had seen pictures of Queen Elizabeth I in something similar, although on Ilissa the dress looked less like something you would wear to face off with the Spanish Armada and more like something to go dancing in. Smiling, Ilissa held out her hands to Nora and kissed her on both cheeks.
    Only then did Nora notice the change in the rose garden below the terrace. All of the bushes were blackened and leafless, as though they had been scorched with a blast of flame.
    â€œNora, what a terrible experience for you,” Ilissa said, still clasping Nora’s hand. “Are you truly all right? I know how wicked those men are.”
    â€œShe’s fine,” Moscelle said, before Nora could answer. “They didn’t touch her.”
    â€œThank you, Moscelle,” Ilissa said tightly, still smiling. Moscelle was right, Ilissa was very angry indeed.
    â€œIt’s true,” said Nora. “They didn’t hurt me. They were afraid of you and Raclin. Where is Raclin?” she added, looking around, wondering why he had not ridden out to meet her.
    â€œOh, Raclin is patrolling the border, making sure that those men don’t try to attack us,” said Ilissa. “Don’t worry about him,” she added, seeing the apprehension in Nora’s face. “He’ll be back before you know it, darling. He was very upset to hear what happened. I would have expected Moscelle and Vulpin and the others to have taken better care of you.”
    Beside Nora, Moscelle stiffened slightly. Nora noticed Vulpin a few feet away, the grotesque snout and tusks still protruding from his face.
    â€œCan’t you help him?” Nora asked. “The wizard did that to him—it’s so horrible.”
    â€œYes, it is, isn’t it?” Ilissa said. “Well, we could change him back to our dear, handsome Vulpin right away. But Vulpin and I have been discussing it, and much as it pains me, we’ve agreed that it might be