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wot?”
    I bit my lip to keep my mouth from dropping open again. How did he know? Who was this man? Could he read my mind like I could read the mind of others? I caught his smiling eyes with mine, just to check. No. He had no bad intentions. He honestly thought that I was like him.
    The knight nodded his head toward the sword. “Give it a try. What can it hurt?”
    “Witches are burned at the stake! That can hurt a great deal!” I exclaimed. My throat tightened making it even harder to breathe.
    The knight’s eyes softened and he nodded his head sadly. “Ah, yes. The stake. Yes, I imagine that would hurt, or at least be awfully uncomfortable, wot?”
    I didn’t say anything. I couldn’t, with my throat so constricted, so I just nodded.
    “Well, you don’t have to worry about that now. I’m certainly not going to turn you in. And as I said, you’re not a witch, even if you can move the sword.”
    “But then how could I…?” I shook my head. This was all very confusing. “Perhaps you wouldn’t tell anyone, but what if someone else…”
    The knight looked around at the empty forest that surrounded us. “No one here.” He then gave me a little smile. “Come now, just for the fun of it, give it a try.”
    I looked again at the sword. What could it hurt? asked a little voice in the back of my mind. It might be fun being able to move things with just a thought, and it would be good to know what I could and could not do. And, after all, those ravens had sought me out, so I must have some magic in me.
    I looked closely at the knight again, but everything he had was on the surface—his gentle laughter and his kind encouragement, clear in even just his body language.
    I turned and focused my mind on the sword, and tried to move it. Nothing happened, just as I had expected.
    “Oh, come now, try harder. Perhaps if you try it like this.” The knight pointed at the sword with his finger. “You can do this,” he whispered encouragingly.
    Raising my arm, I pointed at the sword as he had done. This wouldn’t work. It was silly. But just to humor the old man, I gave it an honest try.
    Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath and willed the sword to move. I could feel my fingers grow warm as I imagined it wiggling its way out of the tree and then floating down to rest in the knight’s hands.
    “That’s it! Well done, I say, well done. Wot?”
    I opened my eyes and staggered backwards, allowing my hand, which was now pointing at the knight, to drop back down to my side. It felt like someone had attached a bale of hay to it, it was so heavy. Luckily, there was another tree directly behind me. I steadied myself against it, suddenly feeling completely drained. The sword was in the man’s hands just as I’d imagined it. A chill ran over me and I pulled my shawl closer around my shoulders.
    “I didn’t do that! You pulled it out while my eyes were shut.”
    The knight gasped. “I did nothing of the sort. And I take serious offense at your implications.”
    “But I didn’t…”
    “Yes, you most certainly did.”
    Deep in my mind and in my heart, I knew that I had done it, and a very small part of me was happily amazed. But the rest was absolutely and completely terrified. I felt as if I had just proclaimed my own death.
    “Now, I thank you, and I think that you might want to sit down for a moment.”
    That was definitely the best idea. Already, my legs were buckling under me. I allowed myself to slide down the tree that was supporting me. Had I been walking too much or was it just the excitement of what I’d just done? Whatever it was, my legs were like pudding and my heart was racing.
    The knight stood over me with a gentle smile on his face as he formally bowed toward me. “Sir Dagonet at your service,” he said, slipping his sword back into the scabbard attached to his belt.
    I tried to stand up again to curtsy properly, but my legs wouldn’t cooperate. Sir Dagonet waved my efforts away with a laugh. “Don’t