Jim continued his magical explanation. His brows furrowed as he spoke.
"There is also the matter of the wizardress who cast this spell upon you. I do not know how familiar you are with her, but she must be extremely powerful. Only the most magically gifted could work transformation magic from a distance and maintain it indefinitely."
"Spells are made more difficult the farther the wizard is from the subject. It is negligible with certain simple spells, but the fact that she was able to cast such a complex spell at such a distance is a matter of concern. You two have a dangerous enemy."
Theresa felt her throat grow tight at his warning. She had known Francine was dangerous, but hearing it confirmed by a wizard only heightened her anxiety.
"I immediately noted upon freeing you from my ropes that the wizardress' magic is thick, cloying, and very powerful. Very few wizards have that amount of control. I can't even guarantee that any would be able to completely remove it safely besides she who cast the original spell."
Jim's voice deepened with even more concern and Theresa wondered how much worse it could get. "There is another thing you are likely not aware of, having not studied magic."
He turned to Daphne and said, "I had not yet explained this to you, my lady. I did not want you to have additional anxiety while you waited for me to locate your sister."
"I understand," Daphne nodded, clearly anxious for him to continue.
"Every wizard has what you might call a distinct flavor to their magic. Two wizards might cast the same spell, but there is always a slight, often imperceptible difference when they cast the same magic, as no two wizards are exactly the same. This is because a wizard's spell comes from within him or herself. Magic is the physical manifestation of thought, if you understand what I mean."
"Not really," Daphne said.
Theresa wondered what his point was going to be. Was he still trying to make them understand how powerful Francine was? She thought that she already understood that too well, having lived under the woman's power for so long.
Jim looked grim. "A wizard's magic is a part of the wizard. I suppose what I mean is... Well, perhaps an example might help."
Jim picked up a grey clay jar from off a shelf and walked back over to them.
"If I cast a spell, perhaps I might turn this to a different color."
He muttered a few words and the plain jar turned from grey to a vague light green.
"Now this jar appears to be yellow, but underneath it is still just a clay jar. All that my spell altered was the outer appearance of the object."
Apparently Jim was seeing a completely different color than she, but Theresa still understood his point.
Theresa nodded as he continued talking.
"Changing the color of an object is a simple spell, but it functions like any other spell I might cast. When I first changed it, it took a fair amount of my magic. Maintaining it takes only a small amount, but it still takes some magic to remain yellow. I could change many jars like this but there would come a point where I had no magic available to change another jar."
"You can run out of magic? Then perhaps Francine might run out," Daphne suggested hopefully.
"I'm afraid it's not so simple," Jim said, shaking his head. "I could simply allow the jars to change back into their original color. Then the magic would be available to me again."
Theresa thought that she understood. The wizard meant that magic was almost like a part of someone. A person could only concentrate on a few things at once. To think of something else, a person had to let some thoughts go. It seemed that magic was the same. Daphne looked like she still was not sure.
"It's like my hands," Jim explained, clearly aware that Daphne was still not following him.
"I can carry many things at a time, but only so much. If my hands are full, I must set some things down before I can pick up anything else. A wizard who uses their magic frequently will gradually be able to maintain more, like an athlete training to become faster or stronger, but there will always be a limit to how much and how far they can maintain their magic."
"Oh," Daphne said. "So if Theresa went really far away, could that break the spell?" she wondered.
Theresa was pleased at how well her sister was thinking through their problems and asking reasonable questions.
"Normally, I would say that would indeed be a feasible option, but this wizardress seems so powerful we might simply reach the furthest coast for and find our travels for naught."
Theresa nodded, willing the wizard to continue on. She understood and did not want to think of the strength of her aunt's magic anymore.
Jim returned to his explanation. "There are also spells that have permanent effects and once completed do not draw from a wizard's reserves. However, the spell on Lady Theresa is not this type. The wizardress who cast it is constantly maintaining that spell. This is a good thing, but it brings us to your next problem."
Theresa did not need more problems, but it was better to know than not to know.
"A wizard has an awareness of their current spells, much like you can tell where your body parts are with your eyes shut."
Theresa immediately grasped what he was trying to tell them. Her transformation had not only been cast by Francine, but was also being maintained by her. Theresa's body remained altered because a part of her aunt was keeping her that way.
It made her feel uncomfortable that a part of Francine still had a hold on her.
Worse, it seemed that Francine probably was aware of where she was. She felt the bottom drop out of her stomach and her fur stand on end.
Theresa stood up and began to pace in tight circles, because there was nothing else that she could do. How could they ever run far or fast enough to escape someone who could feel her location?
"You understand?" Jim asked, looking directly at Theresa.
Theresa nodded.
"Understand what?" Daphne demanded, looking worried but not nearly enough in Theresa's estimation.
"Your aunt will be able to feel Lady Theresa's vague direction because she still maintains the magic upon your sister," he explained patiently.
Daphne's eyes grew round and wide. "She knows that we are here?"
"Not exactly," Jim said, shaking his head. "She has no magic upon you, only upon Lady Theresa."
"That's not better," Daphne said, her forehead wrinkling.
"Don't fear, my lady. Right now, the wizardress shouldn't feel your location at all, because of your close proximity to me. My magic specialty lays more in the direction of protective and shielding magics than other wizards."
Theresa tried to let his words soothe her and listened intently to his next words.
"I maintain an enchantment for many miles on my land that prevents other wizards from sensing what is within my borders, the same enchantment that helped me find Lady Daphne."
He looked at Theresa, "She would have felt you until you entered."
He paused thoughtfully. "It's interesting I did not notice you as I did your sister, Lady Theresa. I suppose my wards took you to be just another animal in the forest. It's certainly an oversight, I'll have to figure out how to amend my wards to account for this new information," he mused.
Then he looked over a Theresa again, "I'm also curious how you managed to find your way here? It's quite fortuitous."
Theresa was actually glad she was not able to explain what had happened after she escaped the dogs. She rolled her feline shoulders into a shrug. They had much bigger problems than the mechanics of his wards.
Theresa continued stalking in tight circles.
Jim was being too calm. Theresa's mind worked through everything Jim had said. Even if Francine did not know where they were, she would have known roughly where they were when they entered.
How long would it be before she sent her dogs to sniff them out? They would have no more difficult time finding the cottage than Theresa had.
But still, if they fled Jim's domain, Francine would be able to sense her magic upon Theresa again.
They had two equally poor choices, either they could stay until the men and dogs arrived or leave and let her location be known.
Perhaps Daphne would be safer if she travelled to the capital to petition the king alone while Theresa drew their aunt in the opposite direction. She wondered how to communicate this new plan.
"But this is where I certainly can help you," Jim added in a soothing voice, watching Theresa's response.
Theresa paused and listened.
"How?" Daphne cried. Theresa stopped pacing and stared at Jim.
"As I said, I specialize in shielding magic. I will produce a shield so that you cannot be traced by the wizardress who cast the transformation upon you."
Theresa felt her worries lighten slightly.
"I have a good friend from my days at Rothforth's who might be better able to help you. His name is Lord Keaton Wildwood and his estate is but a day's journey from here. He shares my curiosity of all things magical and it is far more likely that he would be able to help you safely. He has an impressive library and far more resources than I."
"Oh, thank you, Wizard Jim," Daphne cried in relief.
Theresa also felt grateful, but she was not quite ready to entirely hope yet.
Jim smiled. "But, in the meantime you both should take a rest, and I will spend the night improvising shields so that you will be untraceable until such a time as you are in the care of Lord Wildwood."
Theresa was still worried but at least his plan sounded feasible. Having a decent plan calmed her slightly.
"Come on, Theresa. I'll show you where we are sleeping," Daphne said.
Theresa followed her through one of the doors lining the main room.
It was a simple room but it had a clean bed and that was all that Theresa cared about.
The blankets were already rumpled and smelled like her sister so Theresa could see that Daphne had probably already been asleep when Theresa had been caught in the magic trap in the shed.
Daphne slipped beneath the covers and Theresa leapt up on the bed and made herself comfortable.
Daphne's breathing grew deep and even, so Theresa was surprised when she spoke.
"I'm really glad you found your way here," she said, her voice sounding almost as if she were already half asleep. "Wizard Jim was not having much luck with his magical search."
Theresa meowed agreeably. It had been tremendous luck that she had stumbled upon Daphne's scent.
She was glad to be back with her sister.
Her cat half was not precisely thrilled with sleeping through the entire night, but Theresa was so exhausted that she did not have much trouble ignoring her inconvenient feline nocturnal instincts.
Theresa and Daphne spent the entire night in the cozy spare room in Wizard Jim's cottage.