Page 47 of The Seven Miracles of Beatrix Holland
“And this, this Knock, is just in our family?”
Cordelia lowered her eyes and pulled out a cookie. “Ours and some others.”
“So if it’s not for everyone, is it blood-borne? Or can you give it away to someone who isn’t genetically related?”
Cordelia paused, appearing to choose her next words carefully. “You can, yes. It’s not always… the best idea to do so. Someone for whom the knowledge is completely new often struggles with controlling that kind of power.”
It still didn’t make sense, but Beatrice’s mind was full of questions ping-ponging in every direction. “So what’s the difference between magic and miracles?”
“Whew.” She smiled. “An easy one. Magic is the intentional transformation of energy to affect an outcome. A miracle, on the other hand, is an unearned gift.”
“Huh.” Beatrice sipped her coffee, relishing the way the caffeine slipped through her veins. “What about psychic predictions? Prophecies?”
“I don’t receive them myself. But yes, some people get predictions of the future.”
“Do you trust them?”
A careful shrug. “Depends. For every real psychic, there are five running around taking money for preying on people’s grief.”
“Do you know Keelia’s sister?”
“Winnie? We’ve never met, strangely enough. But I know she’s moving to the island, and I believe from what I’ve heard that her power is strong.”
“You would trust a prediction from her?”
“From what Keelia has said, a hundred percent, yes.”
Time to rip off the psychic Band-Aid. “She said I was going to die soon, but before I did, I’d experience seven miracles. And it was kind of backed up by Evie Oxby, if you know who she is.”
“Ah.” Cordelia sighed. “Well,fuck.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Surprises wouldn’t be surprises if you saw them coming. So I can’t tell you everything they say, not even about who’s going to win tonight. I wish I could.
—Evie Oxby, to Rihanna at the Grammy Awards
Beatrice frowned. “To be honest, that wasn’t the reaction I was hoping for.”
Her sister held up a finger. “The blade that flew off the wood chipper.”
They hadn’t talked about the incident at dinner. “How do you know about that?”
“Small town. Everyone knows.” She held up another finger. “Us, finding each other.”
“Could be coincidence.”
Cordelia shook her head. “It was an unearned gift that took no energy from us. It was a miracle. Have there been any more?”
“No. I don’t think so. I’d know, right?”
“Miracles tend make themselves known kind of obnoxiously.Usually. Holy shit.” Her eyes got a glossy sheen. “Did she give you a time frame?”
“She said she saw the number one. She didn’t think it was one day or one year, but couldn’t tell if it was one week or one month. Could have been one decade by that argument, right?”
Cordelia made a strangled noise that wasn’t quite a sob, but her nose went red the same way Beatrice’s did when she was fighting emotion. “Sorry. Shit.” Cordelia held up a hand. “Sorry.”
“So—” Beatrice’s voice cracked. “So you believe it?”
