‘Good. Trees will tell you what you need to hear. Listen to them, not Vince. He’s stuck in the past and simply doesn’t understand magic. Non-magicians don’t get it – and that includes Kit. It’s all very well for you to have a friendship with him, but you cannot become too close. I’m afraid that this gift means you must stand slightly apart from other people.’

I glare at her. ‘But Kit’s my best friend!’

She frowns. ‘You might think you can trust Kit, but Merry was too close to Peter Potts when they were young, and look at Peter Potts now. People change. And when you are doing these magic tests, the last thing you need is a distraction. Tell me that you’ll spend less time with Kit.’

I give a small smile that she might read as a yes, but could also possibly be a no. ‘Can you tell me how to dial down the noise from all this?’ I say, to change the subject. I wave my hand around at the trees and the river. ‘I can’t think straight.’

She chuckles. ‘Oh yes, I remember what it was like at first. What are you hearing right now?’

‘There’s so much … but a kind of moany noise from there.’ I point to nearby bushes. ‘And a chattering from over there, which could be the river. Some birds are yelling at each other, and down here ...’ I lay my ear on the grass. ‘It’s little grunts, but a happy noise. Like someone’s saying: Happy, happy, happy.’

‘Oh, that’s worms,’ she says matter-of-factly. ‘Worms are always happy. Except when you dig them up, then it’s all Unhappy, unhappy, unhappy.’ She rubs her hands together. ‘Let me help you. When you really listen, it’s noisy, right? So you must learn to withdraw your attention. Focus on something else, something small. A freckle on your arm, for instance.’

I concentrate on my scar from the time Kit and I made toffee apples and I sliced my thumb. Soon, the noise all but disappears. There’s a background burbling but it’s so much better.

Sylvie smiles. ‘Well done. Another thing you can do is imagine a clear bubble around yourself.’

‘Like those glass cake covers they have in cafes?’ I offer.

‘Precisely. And you can do this.’ She forms her arms into a circle in front of her. ‘Which is also good to stop your energy leaking out or to protect your energy from others.’

She wouldn’t be telling me this if she were stealing my energy, would she? Vince must have it wrong.

‘Now,’ she says. ‘Do you know what your special power is yet?’

‘My sizzling fingers.’

She frowns. ‘Sizzling fingers?’

‘Well, they tingle when things are happening. How do I understand what they are telling me, though?’