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castle and blinked in surprise; if anything, the magical haze surrounding it, utterly invisible to most of the city’s residents, had grown brighter.
    “Come on,” Master Revels said, firmly. He strode away, back towards his house, not looking back to see if I was following him. I shook my head and walked after him, feeling the cool air blowing against my exposed midriff and legs. I was aware of glances, of men looking at me, yet somehow it was easy to ignore them. Being turned into a frog, if only for a few minutes, had put the world in perspective.
    As I walked, I became even more aware of how many people cast long shadows into the magical world. They seemed to be out in force now that the sun had set, from a man I was convinced was a vampire to a very strange man with long legs and a tiny body. He looked like a daddy-long-legs given human form, I decided, after reminding myself that it was rude to stare. A stream of ghosts walked down past the castle, following a ghostly tour group that was showing foreigners around Edinburgh. I wondered if any of the tourists could see the real ghosts before deciding that it was unlikely. They would have run all the way down the Royal Mile if they could see the headless woman pulling faces at them. I was so distracted that I didn’t notice the more mundane danger behind me until a hand fell on my shoulder.
    I recognised them instantly. They were the drunken men from the stage show, now even drunker and clearly intent on some action. One of them pawed at me and I slapped him away, but another was trying to grab hold of me somewhere delicate. I reached inside me for the magic and pushed it at them, trying to push them away, yet it was unfocused and unprepared. They blinked, but clearly dismissed it as the wind.
    “Now,” one of the drunkards said. His breath smelt of alcohol, yet he seemed to be marginally less drunk than his companions. “You’re going to dance for us and then...”
    He broke off. I saw his skin melt and jumped back sharply, wondering if I’d somehow killed him – killed them all – with magic. He opened his mouth to scream, but his body melted away before any sound could come out, leaving him falling forward onto all fours. His clothes tore and fell off his body, falling to the ground, revealing a man transforming into a pig. I looked up, already sure of what I would see. Circe was standing there, lowering her arms to her side. Just by smiling, she made me feel frumpy and ugly. All of the drunkards were becoming pigs.
    I found my voice. “Why?”
    “They were pigs inside,” Circe said. Now I knew more about her, I could hear an eerie timeless note in her voice. Her shadow didn’t seem to correspond to her human form. “And now their outside matches their inside.”
    She clicked her fingers and the pigs trouped up behind her. I wondered if they knew what had happened to them, or if they intended to try to fight. It seemed otherwise; they lined themselves up like good little pigs, waiting to walk away with their new mistress. Circe bowed to me, waved her hand and turned and walked away, leaving me staring after her in disbelief. It was a miracle that none of the mundane humans could see her or what she’d just done to the would-be muggers. How could they not see her?
    “Give my regards to your Master,” Circe called, and walked off into the shadows. They came alive and swallowed her and the pigs up, leaving me alone. I turned and fled, running blindly through the streets back towards where Master Revels and Fiona were waiting for me. As I ran, heads turned and eyes followed me, but no one reached out to bar my way. I ran into the house and closed the door behind me, still shaking. How many people survived two encounters with Circe in one day?
    I caught at Master Revels as he peered down at me. “Teach me how to fight,” I said. “I need to know.”
    “Yes,” Master Revels agreed. “You certainly do.”
    ***
    After the encounter with Circe, my