A Question of Magic Read Online Free PDF Page B

little noise,” she said, and wrenched the gate with all her might until it popped open. The shouting turned to wails of anguish.
    â€œYow!” shouted Boris over the noise his friends were making. “Did you see what she did? She would have broken my finger bone if I hadn’t let go!”
    Serafina hurried away from the cottage. “I’m sorry!” she shouted over her shoulder. “But you wouldn’t let me out!”
    â€œDon’t go!” cried Boris. “You don’t know what you’re doing!”
    â€œOh yes, I do,” Serafina announced. “I’m going home!”
    The cottage had settled at the edge of an old animal trail, which was enough of a path for Serafina. At first the ground was too uneven for her to go very fast, but after a while it became smoother; she was nearly running when the path intersected a road. She had no idea where she was or which way to go. After a moment of indecision, she turned right and started running as fast as she could. Serafina wanted to get as far from the cottage as possible, but when her lungs felt as if they were burning and her legs hurt, she was forced to slow down to a steady walk. She was sure that she’d reach a village sooner or later, and when she did, she would find out where she was and what it would take to get home.
    Serafina had stopped to rest for a moment when she saw a figure approaching from the opposite direction. At first she was worried about meeting a stranger inthe middle of the woods and thought about hiding until he passed, but she hesitated long enough to see that he was an old man, bent nearly double under the weight of a bundle of sticks.
    The old man looked puzzled when he drew close enough to get a good look at her. “What are you doing in these woods all by yourself, young miss?” he asked.
    Serafina was relieved that she might have found the sympathetic ear of someone who could help her. She was about to tell him everything that had happened to her, but when she opened her mouth to speak, the words she wanted to say wouldn’t come out. Instead she said in an unfamiliar voice, “I’m running away from a house that moves on its own, skulls that talk, and a future that I find frightening but cannot escape. I must go back to the house to get the answers that I need.”
    When her mouth finally closed, Serafina stood frozen in place, too stunned to move. She hadn’t even thought the words before she’d said them, and when she was talking, she’d had no control over her voice or her body. It was as if she was outside of herself, listening to someone else, and the words just happened to come from her. She had been frightened when the cottage moved, but now she felt terrified!
    Serafina scarcely noticed when the old man gave heran odd look and hurried on his way. As he disappeared down the road, she thought about what she had said. Was it true? Did she have to go back to find out what was going on? But what if she just went home? Then none of it really mattered, did it? She didn’t want to have anything to do with the house or the skulls or her great-aunt Sylanna, whoever she was.
    Serafina shook her head and started walking again, but she’d taken only a few steps when she noticed that her feet hurt and her dress felt tight across her chest. Glancing down, she saw that the fabric of her bodice was pulled taut, and she wasn’t able to take a really deep breath. She tried wiggling her toes, but her shoes had suddenly become painfully small. What was going on? Had something in the cottage made her grow overnight? But then why hadn’t she noticed it sooner? She was running before, but now she doubted she could even walk very far with her shoes on.
    Serafina had taken off one of her shoes to examine it when she heard the sound of laughter. She raised her head and saw a young man and a young woman walking beside a cart piled high with their belongings. As they