sight. The old wizard looked startled.
"Who do you suppose that is?" Olefat asked his parrot.
The parrot squawked and threw another seed at him. "You're the wizard. You tell me!"
Olefat took off his hat, trickling seeds on the floor. His head was bald but for a fringe of hair that reached from ear to ear. Frowning, he rubbed his bald spot before jamming his cap back on his head. "Come in," he called, his eyelid twitching so much, it looked like a living thing trying to escape.
When Grassina opened the door, all the blood drained from Olefat's face. Muttering under his breath, he began to reach into a fold in his robe, but Grassina threw up her hand and pointed her finger at him.
No word, no gesture shall you make!
Silence keep for your life's sake!
Olefat's mouth flew open, and it seemed as though he was about to speak. When nothing came out, his eyes took on a wild look. His jaw waggled, and his Adam's apple jerked up and down.
The parrot squawked, bobbing its head like a broken child's toy. "Would you look at that? That's the first time I've seen the old man speechless. You should have come by sooner. Why, we—"
Grassina pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes, a look that too often meant that someone was in trouble. "Silence, bird, or you'll never speak again," she said. The parrot's beak closed with a snap.
Grassina nodded, apparently satisfied. "Now let's get down to business." Pointing her finger at the old man once more, she recited a truthfulness spell.
Let the truth be known to all.
No more tales-short or tall.
May the words we need to hear
Pass from your lips to waiting ear.
From this day on, the truth you'll tell.
There's just one way to break the spell.
Three selfless acts you must perform
To aid a stranger who's forlorn.
It was a spell I'd heard before. Only a few months earlier a knight had boasted that he was responsible for the death of a dragon terrorizing a neighboring kingdom. When someone questioned the knight's story, Grassina was called in to verify the truth. It was an important point, for whoever had killed the dragon would win the hand of the princess and get half the kingdom. It turned out that a groom in the king's stable had really been responsible, which pleased the princess, for he was younger and much better-looking than the knight. The truth would probably never have come out if it hadn't been for Grassina.
As my aunt finished the spell, Olefat's eyes grew large and his hands began to shake. I wondered if he had heard of the spell and knew what it really meant. "You may talk now," said Grassina, "but I must say that you should be ashamed of yourself. It wasn't the first time you've done something like this, I warrant."
"No, I've done the same thing before." Even while he spoke, a look of horror altered Olefat's features. Stepping back, he clapped both hands over his mouth.
"Tell me, how did you get their memories?"
Olefat shook his head, but it didn't do him any good, for the words spilied out no matter what he did. "I bought a book from a merchant who didn't know what he was selling. Most of the spells were useless, but I tried the memory spell and it worked. I'm terrible at coming up with spells on my own, so I thought this was the perfect way to get some good ones."
The parrot squawked and flicked another seed at Olefat. "Stop talking, you idiot! You're going to tell her everything! Haven't you gotten us in enough trouble already?"
"I can't help it!" Olefat wailed.
Grassina's glance shifted from the parrot back to Olefat. "How did you get the ladies to come to the island?"
"I lied. I told them that I'd found some great swampland that was selling for next to nothing. When I gave them pictures, they wanted to leave right away."
"How did you get them all here?"
"That spell was in the book, too. The witches needed something as a focus, so I gave them bags of sand. I linked their brooms with a spell and took their memories the moment they landed."
Grassina nodded, as if
"Who do you suppose that is?" Olefat asked his parrot.
The parrot squawked and threw another seed at him. "You're the wizard. You tell me!"
Olefat took off his hat, trickling seeds on the floor. His head was bald but for a fringe of hair that reached from ear to ear. Frowning, he rubbed his bald spot before jamming his cap back on his head. "Come in," he called, his eyelid twitching so much, it looked like a living thing trying to escape.
When Grassina opened the door, all the blood drained from Olefat's face. Muttering under his breath, he began to reach into a fold in his robe, but Grassina threw up her hand and pointed her finger at him.
No word, no gesture shall you make!
Silence keep for your life's sake!
Olefat's mouth flew open, and it seemed as though he was about to speak. When nothing came out, his eyes took on a wild look. His jaw waggled, and his Adam's apple jerked up and down.
The parrot squawked, bobbing its head like a broken child's toy. "Would you look at that? That's the first time I've seen the old man speechless. You should have come by sooner. Why, we—"
Grassina pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes, a look that too often meant that someone was in trouble. "Silence, bird, or you'll never speak again," she said. The parrot's beak closed with a snap.
Grassina nodded, apparently satisfied. "Now let's get down to business." Pointing her finger at the old man once more, she recited a truthfulness spell.
Let the truth be known to all.
No more tales-short or tall.
May the words we need to hear
Pass from your lips to waiting ear.
From this day on, the truth you'll tell.
There's just one way to break the spell.
Three selfless acts you must perform
To aid a stranger who's forlorn.
It was a spell I'd heard before. Only a few months earlier a knight had boasted that he was responsible for the death of a dragon terrorizing a neighboring kingdom. When someone questioned the knight's story, Grassina was called in to verify the truth. It was an important point, for whoever had killed the dragon would win the hand of the princess and get half the kingdom. It turned out that a groom in the king's stable had really been responsible, which pleased the princess, for he was younger and much better-looking than the knight. The truth would probably never have come out if it hadn't been for Grassina.
As my aunt finished the spell, Olefat's eyes grew large and his hands began to shake. I wondered if he had heard of the spell and knew what it really meant. "You may talk now," said Grassina, "but I must say that you should be ashamed of yourself. It wasn't the first time you've done something like this, I warrant."
"No, I've done the same thing before." Even while he spoke, a look of horror altered Olefat's features. Stepping back, he clapped both hands over his mouth.
"Tell me, how did you get their memories?"
Olefat shook his head, but it didn't do him any good, for the words spilied out no matter what he did. "I bought a book from a merchant who didn't know what he was selling. Most of the spells were useless, but I tried the memory spell and it worked. I'm terrible at coming up with spells on my own, so I thought this was the perfect way to get some good ones."
The parrot squawked and flicked another seed at Olefat. "Stop talking, you idiot! You're going to tell her everything! Haven't you gotten us in enough trouble already?"
"I can't help it!" Olefat wailed.
Grassina's glance shifted from the parrot back to Olefat. "How did you get the ladies to come to the island?"
"I lied. I told them that I'd found some great swampland that was selling for next to nothing. When I gave them pictures, they wanted to leave right away."
"How did you get them all here?"
"That spell was in the book, too. The witches needed something as a focus, so I gave them bags of sand. I linked their brooms with a spell and took their memories the moment they landed."
Grassina nodded, as if
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