Free Wolfsbane Winter by Jane Fletcher

of the hall at waist height. Strange relics in primary red and yellow hung from the walls.
    Alana’s parents stood on the raised dais at the top of the hall. Orrin was talking to them. He turned at Alana’s approach, and studied her thoughtfully. His smile, what could be seen through his beard, held more of satisfaction than welcome.
    “Alana, I’ve been talking to your parents, and I think I might have some very good news for you.”
    What was the definition of good , Alana wondered, and for whom. She glanced at her parents. They looked happy but mystified, so presumably Orrin had not yet shared the details with them. He beckoned her closer. Alana forced her legs to obey, although she felt the sudden urge to flee. Something about his manner seemed so predatory. All her self-control was needed not to flinch when he held his hand out to her face, stopping a few inches short of cupping her cheek.
    “Alana. Have you ever wondered why the daughter of two such notable mages should be without talent? Hmm?”
    Alana gave a vaguely acquiescent shrug. Certainly her parents had wondered enough to make up for any lack of curiosity on her part.
    “The answer, my dear, is simple. I have felt the stirrings of talent in you. It seethes below the surface of your mind. And yet it is trapped within you, held back and repressed.”
    “She has a talent? What?” Lady Kyra’s voice crackled with excitement.
    “Ahhhhhh.” Orrin drew out the sound, as if to torment everyone by delaying the pronouncement. “Now that’s the question, isn’t it?” He raised his other hand, also holding it a few inches from the side of Alana’s face, moving slowly, as if her head were a fire and he was warming his hands around it.
    After a minute or more, his arms dropped. “I believe she has the same talent as myself. That is what I read in her, a kindred soul.”
    No kindred of yours. Alana stamped on the thought before it could show in her expression, and then wondered why she felt such immediate need to reject the idea.
    Her father clearly did not share her aversion, but still needed convincing. “Why doesn’t she show any sign of it?”
    “Maybe in part because she’s unaware that what her talent tells her is more than a simple, normal emotional reaction to the people she meets. But I think mainly it’s because she’s somehow blocking the full exercise of her own magic.”
    “Alana?” Lady Kyra’s tone demanded an answer.
    “I’m not. I’d know if I was.”
    Orrin shook his head, making his beard waggle. “Not necessarily. If you’ve been doing it since you were a baby, by now it may be a subconscious response in you. Something you give no more thought to than you do to breathing.”
    “Can you stop her doing it?”
    Once more, Orrin raised his hand to Alana’s head, looking thoughtful. “I think so. The barriers are strong, but they can be broken down and swept away.”
    “I don’t think I—” Alana got no chance to raise any objections.
    For the first time Orrin touched her, laying a finger on her lips. “I know it must seem strange, even frightening to you, but great times are ahead for all Galvonia, and the talent you and I share will be called on. Traitors must be found and weeded out. Doubters must be given faith. Protestors must be convinced.”
    With a tremor of shock, Alana realized that Orrin’s lips were not moving. His words were forming directly in her head, unheard by the others in the room.
    Orrin nodded slowly, and then again started speaking aloud. “Yes. These barriers must be stripped away.” He removed his finger from Alana’s lips and gave a small regal bow to Lady Kyra. “I’ll leave now and make my preparations. They will not take long, three days at most. I’ll summon your daughter once all is ready.”
    Alana wanted to make her own escape from the hall immediately after Orrin had left. Unfortunately, her parents had other ideas. They seemed to be under the delusion that if they asked the same