A Question of Magic by E. D. Baker Page A

kind of creepy.”
    â€œI like her,” Boris announced. “She’s taken to the job better than most, even though she didn’t want it. I just hope she’s doing as well in a few years.”
    â€œYears?” Serafina murmured, a cold knot forming in her stomach.

    The next morning, Serafina sat at the table nursing a cup of cider while thinking about the people she’d met. In the beginning, she had dreaded answering questions, afraid of what she might say. The first time a man asked if his wife was trustworthy, he had stormed off in an awful temper when Serafina told him the truth. Another time a woman asked if she would ever have children and wept when she heard that she would die childless. Serafina soon learned that such moments were offset by the joyful news that she gave out, like the future birth of a much-wanted son to a kind couple or the knowledge that a loved one would overcome an illness and live a long and happy life. It frustrated her when people asked frivolous questions, such as the woman who wanted to know if she was a better cook than her mother-in-law or the man who asked which horse he should bet on in the next holiday’s race, but she soon decided that it was their question to waste. Sometimes she wished that she could tell them to change their question, but nothing seemed to affect what they asked or what answers she gave.
    Serafina yelped when Maks jumped onto her lap with his claws out. “Ow!” she exclaimed as there came a knock on the door. She glanced up when she heard another soft knock. “You didn’t have to do that,” she told the cat as she got to her feet.
    â€œYes, I did,” Maks replied, examining his claws as he flexed them. “You looked like you were daydreaming and didn’t notice when your next guest started knocking.”
    Serafina was surprised when she opened the door and found a girl no older than twelve standing with her hand raised, ready to knock again. The girl was the closest to Serafina’s own real age of anyone who had come to visit her, and just seeing her was enough to remind Serafina of everything she had lost.
    â€œI came to ask you my question. I brought you some flowers. See!” the girl said, holding out a bouquet of blossoms picked from a meadow. “I know we’re supposed to bring something, but this is all I could think of.”
    Serafina gave herself a mental shake as if waking from a dream. “The flowers are fine, but you do realize that you can ask me only one question your entire life, don’t you? Are you sure you want to ask me your question now?”
    The girl nodded and shook the flowers at Serafina. “It’s a very important question. It’s about my mother. She’s sick, you see, and—”
    Serafina held up her hand. “Wait until you’ve come inside. I prefer to answer important questions while sitting down.”
    The girl followed Serafina into the cottage and took a seat at the table. Serafina could feel the girl’s eyes on her as she poured her guest a cup of cider and sat down. The girl seemed agitated, and Serafina wanted to help her calm down before she asked her question. A few people were so nervous when they visited that it was hard to get a coherent question out of them, let alone the one they really wanted answered.
    The girl picked up the cup, then set it down again without taking a sip. “My name is Dielle,” the girl said, as if she could no longer stand the silence. “My mother’s name is—”
    â€œYou don’t need to tell me any names,” said Serafina.
    Dielle fidgeted with the cup, turning it around and around in her hands. “I know, but I thought it might make you want to help us if you knew more about us.”
    â€œI’ll answer your question the same way whether I know anything about you or not. Go ahead, you can ask it now.”
    Dielle pushed the cup away. “As I said, my