What things these children must have seen… What they can do…

I dutifully sit in my chair at the table while Jemma sets the food on our plates, but my toes tap the floorboards. If I can’t warn them about the body walker soon, I might burst.

A sharp yank on my scalp snaps me out of it. My hair is tangled between my fingers. I must have pulled it myself.

The two librarians stare at me with muted fascination. I hold my magic back. I don’t need to hear their thoughts to know what they think of me. It’s clear as day on their faces.

I stick my hands under my legs to sit on them instead. Normally, I like Jemma’s cooking, but today I don’t think I could keep anything down.

“Thank you for hosting us,” Ida says to Jemma. “We’ve been charged with recording the events surrounding Lady Aisling’s garden. We’re eager to hear their tales as well.” She gestures to me and Sebastian.

Rachel’s eyes sparkle. “We nearly had our own tale to tell on the way here. The next village over was having some trouble with what they believe was a shape shifter. We just missed them.”

“Oh, really?” Jemma puts some vegetables on each of our plates. “What kind of trouble?” There is a nervous tone to her voice that slips by our guests, but not me. Never me.

Ida waves her hand dismissively. “Nothing exciting. Just a mother not recognizing her own child. Classic shape shifter tomfoolery. The impostor ran off, and when they found the real mother, she could barely remember what had happened during the last few hours.”

My spine goes rigid. That is too familiar, too close to what I witnessed this afternoon. I’d bet anything it was the body walker, not a shape shifter at all. Shape shifters mold their own bodies into different things, such as another person or an animal. If they copy someone’s form, that person would never know unless they saw them with their own eyes. Body walkers are more dangerous. They take over a body, leaving the owner helpless and trapped inside until the body walker lets them have control again. This one must have come to our village afterward. I gulp in air, earning me a puzzled frown from Jemma.

“So, Sebastian, Simone, we understand you were both servants of Lady Aisling until her…imprisonment,” Ida says.

I keep my eyes cast down, but Sebastian speaks up. “Yes,” he says. “But not willingly.”

“Of course,” Ida says. “Please tell us what you remember about your time with her.” Rachel gets out a sheet of paper, but no quill. “From what we understand, many of her former servants do not remember much.”

Sebastian turns a deep shade of red. Sebastian is a memory stealer, though he’s only rarely used his power willingly. Sadness pinches my heart. We have talents that cut both ways. He might’ve been able to remove memories from others, but he is cursed to always keep his own.