Crewel Lye (35 page)

“Not from my side of the family!” Irene snapped.

“I wonder if he can diffuse?” Ivy mused.

“Instant form-changing?” King Dor asked. “If he's a werewolf, that's one thing, a minor talent. If he can change instantly to any form, that's another.”

“Oh, sure, it's any form,” Ivy said with certainty. “He just needs a little help to get it started. He's only a baby, you know.”

Dor picked her up. “I hadn't realized that,” he said with a straight face, teasing her in the nice way daddies had. “I thought perhaps he was an adult, like you.”

“Oh, shut up. Daddy,” she said, kissing him on the cheek.

Irene exchanged a glance with her daughter. “Any form? Changing himself? That's Magician-caliber talent!”

“At least,” Ivy agreed. She had discovered it, so now it was to her credit, and the greater the talent was, the better.

After that the discussion became animated, and Ivy was left out of it. But she didn't mind that, either. She could handle a few more days of neglect, until the matter of the ghosts blew over. It might be interesting having a brother who could become any creature in an instant. She could show him how to reach the high cookie jar by changing into a snail and crawling up the wall, so they would never starve between meals. Or how to become a little dragon, and breathe fire to toast marshmallows and give people hotfoots. The possibilities were endless! Yes, life was bound to get more interesting soon.