The Morrigan's Curse by Dianne K. Salerni Page A

that all?
Sure, the fire starter she’d copied this magic from had been able to do it naturally; that had been his
talent
. The point was that Addie could mimic his talent so effortlessly. “I can also write curses,” she said, shaking the flame out and trying not to sound huffy. Addie had picked up all kinds of things from the refugees passing through the Carroway house. It had been against the rules for the residents to share their talents with one another. But Addie had sharp eyes, and she wasn’t afraid of a spanking when caught.
    â€œCan you defend yourself?” Bran asked, tapping his staff on the patio stones and throwing out his other hand.
    Addie saw a wall of white flying toward her before she was slapped to the ground by a gust of wind. Her rear end hit the stones, followed by her elbows, and very nearly the back of her head. She propped herself up, gasping, until Bran dropped his hand and the wind ceased instantly. “Obviously not,” Bran observed.
    Sucking in air, Addie thought of a barrier spell she mighthave used to block the wind.
Too late now.
At least she could show him she was a quick learner. She jumped up and thrust both hands out. Bran’s long white hair rustled slightly in a faint breeze. It wasn’t as impressive a display as she’d hoped for, but she shrugged. “It takes practice for me to get it right. But I can do wind now. Thanks.”
    Bran looked down on her impassively. “How does a spell caster copy the magic of others without casting spells?”
    â€œI am casting spells,” Addie corrected him. “I just learned to do it without all that silly ritual stuff—symbols and incantations. I don’t need them anymore.”
    â€œYou can’t
change
your talent through learning,” Bran said. When Addie shrugged again, he pressed her further. “You said you were taught this by someone. Who?”
    â€œAn old woman,” Addie said, watching his face to see if he figured it out. “Really old. You could even call her a
crone
.”
    Bran Llyr was skilled at not giving away his thoughts, but Addie saw the skin tighten around his eyes as he considered her answer. Then the quiet of their surroundings was broken by several Aeron boys running along the beach, yowling with mischief and mayhem, and Madoc emerged from the house to ready his plane for their journey, followed by Griffyn and Ysabel.
    Addie’s private lesson came to a premature end.
    The airplane dipped. Addie felt the sensation of falling in her stomach and looked at Kel, but he seemed perfectly calm. However, Griffyn, seated with Ysabel a row ahead,threw a newspaper he’d been reading to the floor. “Tell your father to stop that!” he growled at Kel.
    â€œHe has to descend,” Kel replied. “We’re almost at our destination.”
    That made Addie squirm in her seat more than the drop in altitude. The Carroways were going to be so
angry
at her for bringing these people to their house. She wished Griffyn and Ysabel had stayed behind. If it was just she and Bran, she’d have a better chance of convincing her foster parents that what she was doing was right for her people. No Transitioners knew better than Emma and Dale Carroway how much the Kin had suffered from their banishment to the eighth day. They’d devoted their whole lives to serving members of the unfairly imprisoned Kin race, even though it meant avoiding other Transitioners and keeping themselves in a self-imposed isolation.
    Madoc landed the plane on a street in the middle of town, bringing it to a stop between a candy store and the library. Although Addie had skateboarded down this street dozens of times, she had never set foot inside either the store or the library. Normal establishments were closed to her.
    Addie chewed on a fingernail.
Emma will know we’re here
.
Her foster mother was a sensitive who detected emotions. Emma would immediately sense strangers