I just did it. It was the same the night before when I took Chamanca’s outfit. I knew that I should take it, I knew that by touching it I’d make the leather strong and it would protect you, and I knew that I should put it in your cell. But I don’t know how I knew. And I’m certain that I can’t use my magic against the Dumnonians, totally certain, as certain as I am that I can’t drink all the water in the sea. There’s no point trying, I just can’t.” Spring’s vision blurred with tears.
“But in the arena—”
“I know! I’m sorry!”
Lowa’s lips were a thin white line. For a moment Spring thought she was going to hit her.
“So, when you put – for want of a better word – the magic into Chamanca’s outfit that stopped the chariot’s blade from chopping me in half, that was the first time you’d used magic?”
“I don’t know if it was magic, or what it was.”
“Was that the first time?”
“Oh no. It’s happened loads before. Like when I met Dug he wanted to kill me, so I had to change his mind, but before that Ulpius wanted to kill me so I had to wake Dug up by going into his dream and getting him. Sometimes I just know things. Like I know the Romans are coming, and just before I met you I knew that Weylin would want a cart and I could rescue you and Dug by getting one. Sometimes I can do things, like when Juniper the dog jumped at me I stopped her heart, and sometimes I can make other people know things, like when I taught the girls to use the slings and then, like on Mearhold, I can make people fall in and out…” Spring reddened as she remembered that Lowa mustn’t know about that. “…of boats, like I did for a joke once with one of the boys—”
“Hang on.” Lowa took Spring’s chin gently in her hand and looked into her eyes. “That’s not what you were going to say.” Spring tried to pull away. Lowa’s fingers tightened. She leant forward. Her gaze speared through Spring’s eyes and bored into her brain. “You missed something out, didn’t you?” she said quietly.
“No.”
“No?”
“No.”
“On Mearhold. You used your magic for something that you’re not telling me.”
Spring tried to squirm away, but Lowa’s grip was iron. “No, I didn’t!” she insisted. With her lips pressed together by Lowa’s strong fingers she sounded like someone who’d had their tongue split in two by liars’ tongue scissors. “What could I have used it for?” She had used her magic to make Lowa fall out of love with Dug on Mearhold. At the time it had made good sense. She and Dug been happy before Lowa had come along. Meeting Lowa had resulted in Dug being savaged half to death by a horrible animal, not to mention Spring herself being stabbed and kidnapped by the awful Ogre, and who knew what more trouble this blonde archer was going to bring them? So Spring had acted to save Dug, and, if she was honest, because she wanted Dug to herself. However, when Spring had seen how much her actions had upset Dug, and Lowa, too, she’d realised that she’d made a mistake. She’d tried to cancel her spell, or whatever it was, but she didn’t know if she had succeeded, and there was nothing she could do now that she had lost her magic. Besides, even if it came back, she’d learnt her lesson about mucking around with people’s affections and she wasn’t going to do it again. So she could have told Lowa what she’d done, but there was nothing to gain from it and plenty to lose.
Spring fixed her eyes on Lowa’s and said, as firmly and seriously as she could through her squashed mouth: “I did not use my magic on Mearhold.”
Lowa released her, but her stare did not let up. Spring squirmed and resisted the urge to tell her all just to stop those eyes poking about in her head.
“Enough of this,” said Lowa, “I’ve got a battle to plan.”
“I’ll come to the battle. I’ll do whatever I can to help. I’m good with my sling! But I won’t be able to use magic. I’ll try, I will, but I know it won’t work.”
“You do what you want.” Lowa strode away.
Spring watched her walk off. She’d come to the woods to try and make herself feel better, but