"Oh, tell me anything," she said, smiling at him then. "It doesn't even have to be true."

She watched him carefully then. He looked away and almost smiled and seemed to be at war with himself. When he did speak, the words were not at all what she expected.

"I'm a wizard," he said, looking her in the eye, perfectly calm. "I own a magic wand, and I can cast a spell for almost anything you could imagine."