I’m knee deep in the river. It’s completely dark except for a circle of yellow light coming from the lantern Sylvie’s holding. She’s waded in too, and has rolled up her trousers, revealing distractingly knobbly knees.

From the big top comes a burst of applause and the trumpet fanfare after Jerry’s final act, marking the end of the show.

‘Magic is all about energy,’ Sylvie says, her voice serious. ‘Magicians borrow energy from nature, then, using spells, ask that energy to do what they want. We move it, we transform it, we use the ancient power in the spells to change energy.’

I nod politely and pretend I didn’t already know this most basic thing.

‘But sometimes we have to resist energy from people or from nature,’ she says. That, I didn’t know.

‘For this test,’ she says, ‘you must stand steady against the river’s current, which I’ll change.’ She steps close to me. ‘This is basic stuff, Tulsi. Even non-magicians can do this.’

The water surges and I wobble a bit. Normally, I love the river, but the rippling water looks inky and unfriendly, just like it did last night. Something soft and creepy brushes against my ankles and I try not to scream.

‘Imagine you have roots coming from the soles of your feet, burrowing down into the river bed,’ says Sylvie. ‘Whenever you feel swayed by fear or something mysterious, let Mother Earth help you stand strong.’

I imagine roots sprouting from the bottom of my feet, and after a moment, the idea seems perfectly natural. I can almost feel my roots snaking down into the ground.

‘Good. See how you go with this.’ She holds her hand a few centimetres from my chest. I feel gentle pressure against my breast bone.

The pressure grows until I must lean forward to keep my balance, and all I’m thinking of is my feet-roots. I’m strong and grounded. This is not so hard.

Sylvie whips away her hand and I fall forward with a great splash. I get to my feet, soaked through.

‘Try again,’ she says, and there’s no sympathy in her voice. ‘You must draw on your ancestors’ knowledge, back to Eunice and beyond. The wisdom of all those women is within you, Tulsi. Find it.’

This time, I tell myself I am a fig tree, powerfully anchored to the earth. The river is swirling hard around me now, whipping up into higher and higher waves that smack into us both and crash against the banks. It’s more like a wild ocean than a river, and it takes all my concentration to stay upright.