Page 31 of Heir of Uncertain Magic

Why are you telling me this?She didn’t voice it, because there was a veritable frog in her throat, and she wondered why Mr.Baillie thought to discuss the situation with her at all. He wasn’t the friendly sort.

And then anxiety, not sadness, flared to life inside her, raising gooseflesh on her skin, sending shivers up her limbs and down her sides. The shelves of records were looming in on her. She was so high up. Were the windows secure? Was—

Hulda stood up abruptly, knocking the small table back. A few papers fell to the floor. The sensations abated slightly, and she glowered at Mr.Baillie.

He raised an eyebrow. “Are you all right?”

“Fine,” she snapped, and held on to that flicker of anger as she marched past him and into the hallway, feeling a little more herself with every step until, suddenly, all the heaviness and sorrow andfearevaporated like it had never been, and Huldaknew. Sheknewwhat he had done.

She barged into Myra’s office—Mr.Walker’s office—without knocking, startling the man from perusing a ledger.

“MissLarkin!” He jolted. “What is it?”

It took monumental effort to quietly shut the door when she very much wanted to slam it. “I am afraid to say I believe Mr.Baillie is enchanting me.”

Mr.Walker blinked. “He isn’t married, but I don’t think—”

“Mr.Walker!” She stomped a foot. “I did not say I am enchantedwithhim. I say that he is a hysterian who has been using his magic on me for the last two days!”

It was the only thing that made sense. The sudden changes in emotion, the relief when she left the building he was stationed in ... Her feelings were being warped and expanded by spells!

Mr.Walker’s face went slack; then his mouth formed anO. “Would you like to sit down?”

She strode closer to the desk, but did not sit.

“I appreciate you bringing your concern to me,” he said carefully, and Hulda could already feel where he was going with this, “but while Mr.Baillieis, technically, a hysterian, he’s a very poor one. Quite clumsy with it, to an embarrassing degree—which is why he pursuedlaw instead of psychology or the like. Believe me, if he were trying to rile you, you would know. That, and Mr.Baillie is a professional I’ve worked with for years. I assure you he’s trustworthy.”

“But Idoknow,” Hulda protested. “That’s why I’m here.” A thought struck her. “Did he perchance interact with MissTaylor before her reassignment?”

Mr.Walker blinked. “I ... He was in the office, I believe, but I’m the one who gave her the assignment.” Rubbing his chin, he went on. “To ease your mind, I believe Alastair’s only spell is one of, well, silliness. Have you, uh, been feeling silly, MissLarkin?”

Hulda removed her glasses and rubbed between her eyes. “No. Quite the opposite.” She shoved her glasses back on. “Of course you have more experience than I do.” She tried to keep calm, which was proving far easier now than earlier. “But I’ve had ... feelings ... that have been highly amplified while in his presence. Nonsensical emotions without root—”

“Without root?” he repeated softly.

Hulda paused.Merritt. Myra. MissTaylor. BIKER.Were they without root? No, they weren’t. Indeed, she had a lot on her plate. Heaping mounds on her plate. It was just ... Hulda had never struggled this much to deal with those things.

Perhaps it was different, with her heart so heavily involved. Hulda had always been someone who led with her mind.

She began to doubt herself, and where there was even a tendril of doubt, there could be no certainty. And what proof did she have, other than her own suspicion?

“Perhaps not,” she admitted.

Leaning back in his chair, Mr.Walker stretched his arms. “Never hesitate to bring a problem to me, MissLarkin. We’ll get this mess sorted out soon enough. But go home. Take a break. Relax a little. We’ll do well enough without you until Monday.”

She shook her head. It would not reflect well on her if she went home while another director candidate worked on.

But Mr.Walker closed his ledger and stretched. “I might go home, too. We’re hitting a wall today. No use in pointless work.”

That eased her concern ... except that Hulda’s “home” was currently inside this very building, on the first floor. She would still be in the same building as Alastair Baillie.

She chewed on her lip.

“Thank you,” she said. “I think I will.”

She left the office door ajar, and when she returned to the records room for her things, she was relieved to see Mr.Baillie had left. She put her heavy black bag on her shoulder and took the stairs outside, sucking in cool air like it was medicine.

Walking down the street, she pulled out a fist-sized piece of gray selenite—her communion stone. Pressed her thumb into the tiny rune on its surface.

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