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“I sometimes hear the spirits when I’m dreaming or feeling tired,” I told him. “They’re not talking to me. They’re just…talking.”

There was another pause, then he said, “You have magic.”

“Yes.” I had to force the admission from my throat; I wasn’t used to sharing my secrets.

“You aren’t human.” He sounded impressed.

“No,” I agreed with a sigh. “I’m not human.”

“Where in the Many Realms are you from?”

“From here.” I pointed at the ground. “From Gaia.”

“Are you sure about that?” he countered.

“Yes,” I said, and even I realized how defensive I sounded.

I was really grateful when the invisible stranger didn’t press me further.

“What kind of magic can you do?” he asked instead. His voice was casual, calm. Obviously, he could tell I was on the verge of freaking out, and he didn’t want to spook me.

“Not much,” I admitted. “I have only two spells, and they’re pretty lame.” I kept talking to cover my embarrassment. “I don’t have any spell books or magic teachers, so I’ve had to teach myself.”

“And how did you do that?”

“I learned magic by watching TV.”

“That…is not what I expected,” he said, his tone uneven, like I’d caught him off guard.

“The news sometimes shows Knights doing magic,” I replied. “But they don’t often show the preparation to the spell. I guess people don’t understand that magic doesn’t just happen without some kind of setup to make it work.”

“But you do,” he said.

“Sure.” I shrugged. “I mean, it’s just common sense, right?”

He laughed. “Oh, you’d be surprised how quickly common sense goes out the window when people come face to face with magic.”

“Yeah, I guess that’s true,” I conceded. “But it’s pretty silly. There’s a logical order for everything—even magic. Not that I’m an expert or anything. I still don’t really understand magic all that well.”

“You understand it well enough to learn spells from TV,” he replied. “I’ve never heard of anyone doing something like that.”

“I’m just stubborn, I guess. I keep watching until the news accidentally shows something I can use,” I told him. “This one time, the news camera captured a few seconds of a Knight preparing to go into battle. It was pretty cool. The Knight performed a short sequence of movements that looked like a cross between a dance and a martial arts exercise. The cameraman probably thought he was just doing some cool pre-battle stretching routine, but I was pretty sure there was something magical about the Knight’s movements. It turned out to be a body-odor-masking spell. The Knight used it to sneak up on a bunch of Cursed Ones. They’re supposed to have a really potent sense of smell.”

“The Cursed Ones also have a really potent smell,” the invisible stranger commented.

“So youhaveseen them.” I nodded. “I thought so.”

“Oh?”

“Well, yes. I mean, you’re obviously a Knight.”

“Am I now?” he chuckled.

“Of course. You have magicandyou’ve faced the Cursed Ones.”

“Actually, all I said is I’ve smelled them,” he said lightly.

But I was certain. “You’re a Knight. You’re so chivalrous.”