Dark Mirror Read Online Free Page A

cheeks, but he was holding on.
    Glancing up, she saw that the rescue attempts had temporarily halted while the men argued about what to try next. No one was looking at her or Jamie. Perhaps she could save her nephew and get away before anyone noticed her. He was so young and upset that a garbled account of his rescue might not be believed.
    Clinging to that hope, she floated to her right. The hundred yards that had appeared short from level ground seemed very long now. Touching the rough, wet cliff face made her feel safer, though she knew safety was an illusion. If her magic failed, she was doomed.
    The wind whipped around her, lifting the hem of her gown to indecent levels. Ignoring that, she concentrated on her nephew. Hang on just a little longer, darling!
    As she neared her nephew, she said softly, “Jamie, I’m here.”
    He turned his blond head, blinking owlishly. “Aunt Tory,” he whimpered. “I knew you’d come.” He lunged toward her and tumbled off his branch.
    “Jamie!” Heart pounding with fear, she swooped downward and caught him. He was heavier than she expected and for a ghastly instant they were both falling.
    She grabbed at her magic and they halted in midair, so low that cold spray from the smashing waves chilled her feet. Trying to sound calm, she said, “Put your arms around my neck and your legs around my waist, Jamie. We’ll be safe in a few minutes.”
    Obediently he latched on like a monkey, his curly head resting on her shoulder. She wrapped her right arm around his solid little body and began floating left and up.
    Rising was hard with his extra pounds weighing her down. Grimly, Tory ignored her increasing exhaustion and her aching head. It was worth using all her remaining strength to carry them as far along the cliff as she could manage. The farther they were from where Jamie fell, the less likely they were to be seen.
    Wishing she could make herself invisible as well as fly, she used the last of her strength to lift them up and over the cliff edge and on to solid ground. She staggered and almost fell but managed to keep her footing. Dizzy with relief, she set Jamie down and brushed futilely at her muddy gown.
    The wind stilled for a moment. In the silence, Tory heard a woman gasp, “Merciful heavens, Lady Victoria flew ! How could a Mansfield be a mageling?”
    Panicking, Tory straightened and saw what looked like every one of her parents’ guests. They’d been drawn to the cliff by the drama, and despite the distance she’d traveled, she had come up well within sight of the crowd.
    That first shocked cry caused all eyes to turn toward Tory. She froze like a rabbit cornered by a fox as expressions changed from surprise to horror and disapproval. She wanted to disappear, but it was too late.
    “Jamie!” Cecilia cut through the crowd, her face radiant with relief. She fell to her knees as she embraced her son, rocking him back and forth.
    Jamie grabbed hold of his mother as if he’d never let go. “I’m sorry, Mama,” he wept. “I didn’t mean to fall.”
    Bruised and muddy, Geoffrey thundered up after Cecilia. He dropped to his knees and crushed his wife and son in a hug. “God be thanked,” he said brokenly. “And thank God for you, Tory!”
    With Jamie safe, the crowd’s attention locked on Tory, who had just provided shocking evidence that she was tainted by magical ability.
    “Disgraceful!” Miss Riddle, the aging heiress to a mining fortune, gave an audible sniff, turned away sharply, and stalked toward the house. She had just given the cut direct, a gesture that proclaimed Tory invisible. Beneath contempt.
    Beyond redemption.
    Miss Riddle’s action was like a breaking dam. A hissing chorus of comments filled the air. “Who would have imagined…?”
    “A Mansfield! How dreadful for her family.”
    “Shocking! Simply shocking. There must be bad blood there.”
    As Tory watched, agonized, her parents’ guests turned away, presenting her with an implacable wall