The Mage and the Magpie Read Online Free PDF

she was there, then remembered and were startled.
    She sat up and put her chin in her hands, looking around again. She had just been dreaming about hiking with her father around Morley. She had asked him who her mother was. What had he said? She couldn’t remember. She must have awakened before he answered. If that magpie had only waited a few more seconds…
    She looked around to where the noise had come from and saw the corner of a large nest peeking out over the edge of the bell tower. So it was a mother magpie. She drew her sketchbook out again, added the nest to her drawing of the church, then started on a new page. “Mother Magpie” she wrote at the top of it, then sketched the bird and her hatchling. Even the magpie babies had a mother.
    Where was hers?
    She began to draw faster, memories flooding into her mind. The first day of school, when Ann had asked what her mom’s name was. Her first sleepover, when Jennie’s mom had made pancakes in the morning, making her wonder how nice it would be to wake up to a mother every day. Her birthday, two years ago, when she had first really asked her father for answers, and he had told her about the basket. Had he told her everything, though? Maybe he was hiding something, thinking the truth would hurt her. Maybe her mother had been an awful person. Or maybe, just maybe, she really didn’t have a mother at all.
    All things have a mother.
    Brinley jumped at the voice, looking around. She hadn’t heard anyone come up.
    “Hello?” she called. She waited, but didn’t hear anything. There was nothing there, just trees and rocks, half of an old empty church, and a magpie. She must have imagined it. Maybe she had drifted into a daydream while drawing. Yes, it would fit right into the last dream she had been having about her father. Maybe that’s what he had —
    All things have a mother.
    This time she jumped up and wheeled around. It was a woman’s voice. She was sure of it. Where on earth was it coming from? She definitely hadn’t been daydreaming this time.
    “Hello?” she called again. Nothing. She had the sense that someone was there, watching. Perhaps in the trees, just out of sight, or hiding around the corner of the church. It was unnerving. She wished more than anything to be invisible. Really invisible this time.
    She quietly zipped her notebook into her bag and started off toward the path. She walked on tiptoes, hoping beyond hope that whoever was hiding wouldn’t notice her. This time, the voice came as a whisper in her ear just as she was passing the door to the church.
    All things have a mother.
    She gave a little yelp. Whoever it was must have been standing right next to her, but nobody was there! Not knowing what else to do, she ran into the church, glancing around quickly. She couldn’t see anyone. Still…somebody was there. She stood stock-still, the hairs on the back of her neck standing up. She didn’t know what was going on, all she knew was that she was afraid.
    After a few moments, she came to her senses. This was ridiculous! There must have been some funny tomatoes in her sandwich or something. She had been standing there with a dumb look on her face, her arms stretched out, hands poised to make karate chops. It was almost laughable. Almost. The magpie fluttered down to sit atop the broken wall of the church, looking at her curiously.
    “Don’t give me that look,” she said. “I know I heard something‌—‌” No, she told herself. She had imagined it. She turned her back toward the door and a sound like musical thunder rang out above her head. It was like a giant gong. Louder than any normal bell could be.
    She whipped around, staring up at the bell tower. It was just as empty as it had been before. Her heart was beating fast. Stubbornly, she forced herself not to run home. She had to walk, she told herself. This was all in her head. It had to be.

Chapter Six
    In which Archibald gets Hugo to recite a poem
    I n the stable of Caraway