first veil

She shook her head. "Mine is silly, too. I walked home from school one day about two years ago and it was raining, so I ran straight inside. It was errands day, and I thought Mom was gone."
"Ah," I said. "Let me guess. You were still wearing the Gothy McGoth outfit instead of what your mom saw you leave the house in."
Her cheeks flushed pink. "Yes. Only she wasn't running errands. Gran had borrowed the van and taken the little ones to get haircuts because Mom was sick. I was in the living room and I hadn't changed back. All I wanted was to sink into the floor so she wouldn't see me."
"What happened?"
Molly shrugged. "I closed my eyes. Mom came in. She sat down on the couch and turned on the TV, and never said a word. I opened my eyes and she was sitting there, three feet away, and hadn't even seen me. I walked out really quietly, and she never even glanced at me. I mean, at first I thought she'd gone crazy or into denial or something. But she really hadn't seen me. So I snuck back to my room, changed clothes, and she was none the wiser."
I lifted my eyebrows, impressed. "Wow. Really?"
"Yes." She peered up at me. "Why?"
"Your first time out you called up a veil on nothing but instinct. That's impressive, kid. You've got a gift."
She frowned. "Really?"
"Absolutely. I'm a full wizard of the White Council, and I can't do a reliable veil."
"You can't? Why not?"
I shrugged. "Why are some people wonderful singers, even without training, and other people can't carry a tune in a bucket? It's something I just don't have. That you do..." I shook my head. "It's impressive. It's a rare talent."
She frowned over that, her gaze turning inward for a moment. "Oh."
"Bet you got one hell of a headache afterward."
She nodded. "Yes, actually. Like an ice-cream headache, only two hours long. How did you know?"
"It's a fairly typical form of sensory feedback for improperly channeled energy," I said. "Everyone who does magic winds up with one sooner or later."


Proven Guilty Chapter 41, Page 338-339