Free Dark Mirror by M.J. Putney Page B

Miss Macklin. Though Tory had always wanted to learn Italian, she did not look forward to having such a beastly teacher. She’d sit in the back of the class.
    There was also a note that her “accomplishments” would be evaluated. Nell had mentioned this at dinner. A governess must teach drawing, music, and needlework, but virtually all girls sent to Lackland had such skills, and Tory was no exception.
    Academic subjects were another matter. Some girls arrived at Lackland ignorant of anything beyond reading, writing, and basic arithmetic. Though Tory was still angry with her father, at least he believed in educating his daughters as well as his son. Tory and Sarah had learned Latin as well as watercolors and how to play the pianoforte.
    Miss Wheaton handed a straw bonnet and a blue knit shawl to Tory and they set off. The day was pleasant, with more sun than clouds. A good day for walking.
    A footpath led across the grounds to the main gate. When they reached that, Miss Wheaton said, “It’s time to remove the block I put on you yesterday.” She closed her eyes and briefly touched the heel of her palm to Tory’s forehead.
    Then they walked through the gate. Tory gasped at the flood of sensations. In the day since her arrival, she’d started to adapt to the abbey’s suffocating atmosphere. Now she felt as if she were waking after heavy sleep. She turned in a circle, reveling in the vitality of the normal world. “Everything feels so alive. ”
    “You’re now restored to your full self.” Miss Wheaton led the way across the road to a public footpath that ran between two barley fields. “Having been deprived of your magical senses for a time, you should be extra aware now.”
    Tory winced. “So I’ll feel even worse when I return to the school?”
    “The more aware you are of your abilities, the more you’ll miss them when they’re blocked,” the teacher said. “But today is a day for learning and understanding. You can ask me anything you want about magic, and if I know the answer, I’ll be happy to explain it.”
    What Tory really wanted to ask was Why me? but that wasn’t a question Miss Wheaton could answer. “Do students who have their magic locked down ever regret having that done?”
    “No one has ever asked me that.” The teacher’s brows furrowed. “Not that I know of, but of course I don’t see students after they leave Lackland. In the nature of things, there must be a few who later regret denying that part of their nature.”
    Tory didn’t find that comforting. “I will miss this intense awareness of nature. I’ve always had it, but it’s stronger now that my magic has awakened.”
    “Can you describe how you feel?”
    Tory searched for the right words. “Everything around me pulses with life, even the grass. Or … it’s like a subtle hum that adds richness to being alive.”
    “Well said. Can you tell the difference between grass and a tree?”
    Tory tried for a dozen steps. She sensed a slow living current of … of greenness, but nothing more specific. “No. Should I?”
    Miss Wheaton grinned. “No, it’s just a test of sensitivity. If you could distinguish between tree, grass, and shrub so soon after awakening to your magical ability, you’d probably have strong healing ability. But in itself, identifying plants isn’t particularly useful. The difference between plants and animals can be handy, though. What can you tell me about that bramble bush ahead?”
    Tory turned her attention to the brambles, consciously looking for different energy patterns. Frowning with concentration, she said, “The bramble is quietly alive, but there are sparks of a brighter energy within it. Rabbits?”
    “Blackbirds, but you do well to sense the difference.”
    Tory felt pleased, until she remembered that she didn’t want Miss Wheaton to think Tory had strong magical power. A sudden suspicion struck her. “Do you use magic to persuade girls to talk to you freely?”
    Miss Wheaton made a