Rise of the Sparrows (Relics of Ar'Zac #1) by Sarina Langer Page B

stitching disappeared to leave nothing but the fabric itself. Stains disappeared, and rough patches softened.
    She had never seen anything like it. Her blanket which had been beyond repair had been fixed.
    “You promised not to tell anyone, remember?” Rachael nodded, not trusting her voice. “I'm a Sorceress. I can use magic to do things, like fix your clothes or make you tea.”
    Rachael was lost for words. Out of all the places they could have stumbled upon, they had found someone who was just like them.
    Lady Aeron wouldn't betray them. She understood their need to keep their curse a secret. Only, looking at the miracle Lady Aeron had performed, she wondered if maybe their curse could be a gift, instead.
    “Cephy and I have magic, too. But we can't do anything as beautiful as you.”
    Aeron smiled and gave her a sympathetic nod. “And your parents don't mind? I didn't believe there was anyone in this world willing to tolerate us.”
    Rachael frowned. She had to tell Aeron the truth, after all, and it didn't look like excuses would be necessary.
    “We don't have parents. We're from Blackrock, but they asked the White Guard to take us away. I'm so sorry! We didn't mean to lie to you, but-” Aeron laid a gentle finger on Rachael's broken lips.
    “It's all right. You don't have to explain. You and your sister are welcome to stay for as long as you like.”
    Rachael couldn't believe their luck. “Thank you! We won't be a burden, I promise!”
    Lady Aeron smiled. “Don't worry. I have waited all my life for girls like you to come along.”
     
    “Where could they have gone? They can't have disappeared, they must be around here somewhere!” Panicked, Cale paced up and down the small living room in Arlo's cabin.
    “It's possible they took the wrong turn when they left Blackrock and didn't follow the main road, lad. Maybe they-”
    “No.”  Things couldn't have gone that wrong. If they had gone left, if she had them... His palms were sweating at the thought.
    “And if they have, lad?” Cale shook his head at Arlo's persistence. There must have been another reason. He had come too far for it to end like this.
    “Have you searched the forest?”
    “Of course I have, lad! This isn't the first time I've done this!”
    “And there were no traces at all?” Cale stopped, looking around the room for any impossible clues of the girls' whereabouts. He steadied himself on the large, heavy oak table, wondering if Arlo was right. Maybe they did have to consider the worst.
    He had never felt so tired.
    Arlo shook his head. “No, my boy. I'm sorry.”
    “Then we need to find them. The Sparrows need them. We can't just sit here doing nothing.”
    “And what do you think we should do?”
    “I need to go and see her. At best she has seen the girls, at worst... I don't know what I can do if she has them, Arlo. I don't know why she would co-operate.”
    You didn't argue with a Mist Woman and expected to get out of it alive. Aeron was the only Mist Woman in Rifarne, but she was enough. The young ones were dangerous because they were inexperienced and impulsive, and the old ones were just as lethal. What the young ones lacked in experience, the old ones had several lifetimes of. Both were terrible at thinking before acting.
    Rifarne's Mist Woman was still young, and perhaps the most impulsive of all. Cale remembered the story Arlo had told him. His friend had had a run-in with her fifty years ago, when his greying hair had still been a warm brown. The scar across the man's chest was all the proof he needed. He couldn't let the Sparrow anywhere near the Mist Woman.
    “You know I can't let you go, lad. She will do worse to you than she ever did to me, and I'm—”
    “Lucky to be alive, I know. That's exactly why I have to go. We need them.”
    “You need only one.” Cale didn't like arguing with Arlo. He owed the man his life and would never be able to repay him, but he couldn't leave the Sparrow with Aeron.
    “And you