[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
.It seemed to whisper hope to her.And even though she wasn’t the Chosen One, even though the Gold Wizard seemed incompetent, even though everything had gone wrong, she found herself happy to be here, out in the woods, on an adventure.When she woke at dawn, stiff, cold, and annoyed, Reina had finished with adventures.She felt a wave of homesickness as she stood, staring at the endless trees.She longed to be by the kitchen fire, stirring a pot of oatmeal for her mother, watching her father put on his boots to go out to the fields.The trees looked cold and unfriendly compared to the memories of home.Reina tried to ignore the lump in her chest and went to find wood.By the time Austyn and the Gold Wizard woke, she had a nice fire going.Of course they had nothing to cook, since they had abandoned their stuff when the harpies had attacked.The Gold Wizard, however, surprised her by producing from his robes a large tin cup and some strips of dried meat.Reina heated water in the cup, and the wizard added the meat and some herbs to make a broth.While it wasn’t as filling as they would have liked, it was much better than nothing.“We’ll gather some more supplies and rest a day,” the Gold Wizard told them.“Then we’ll go to my home, The Clearing of Whispering Secrets.There, I’ll teach you magic, so we can hide better from the Red Wizard while we retrieve the sword.Then we’ll have both the magic and the supplies we need.”He poked his finger at Austyn.“But today, my magic is low, so we rest, and I’ll teach you some defense magic just in case.”Austyn’s face looked pale.Reina pressed her lips together, fighting off her longing to learn magic, and hurried to reassure him.“It’ll be really fun, Austyn.Maybe you’ll learn to fly!”“Oh, no, that’s much too advanced,” the wizard broke in quickly.“Instead, I’ll show you something much simpler.A defense spell, something that will protect you against things like harpies.Here, stand clear of the fire.Now feel the warmth of the medallion—use it as a focus.”The Gold Wizard, using only his left arm, positioned Austyn a few yards from the fire in an open space.Austyn, looking worried, clutched the medallion in his hands.Reina sat by the fire, watching closely, wondering how the heat of magic would feel.She thought of how the medallion had tingled in her hands when she had picked it up.She hadn’t touched it since.“There now,” the Gold Wizard continued, backing up.“The medallion should feel like it has a heat in it, and you reach into that heat, use it.Gather it into yourself and picture it becoming light and surrounding you, creating a protective barrier.And as you do that, say draythin argrata.”Austyn wrinkled his nose.“Say what?””Draythin argrata.It means … er … protective light, approximately, in the language of mages.Words help to focus thoughts, and these words are of an ancient language spoken during the time of creation, so they are more powerful.”“Who spoke it? And did they write it too?” Austyn’s face lit up with excitement.“Well, they came up with the runes.You can read each rune in two ways, at the very least—in our language and in Treythic.Of course, there are also multiple ways to read them in our language—for example, power and ruler have the same rune, and only context tells which is which.It’s very complicated.”The Gold Wizard shook his head, as if just realizing Austyn had successfully sidetracked him.“Well, now, remember what I said—draythin argrata.And concentrate on the image.Hurry up and try it.”Austyn frowned and concentrated on the medallion, his knuckles clasping it so tightly they turned white.“I don’t feel anything.”“Try harder.”Reina didn’t like the Gold Wizard’s tone; she jumped to her feet.“Stop nagging him—he’s trying.Maybe you’re making him try too hard.”“Stay out of this, little girl.Yet again, I only agreed to take you on the condition you—”Reina stepped around him, ignoring his tirade, to crouch by Austyn.“Don’t listen,” she whispered.“If you’re afraid to use it, the magic won’t come.You have to want it there.” Listening to the Gold Wizard and thinking of all the stories of magic she knew, she felt this was important.“Look for it first, without using it.”Austyn gave her a small smile.“I’m glad you’re here,” he whispered back.Then his eyes widened, and Reina gave a little gasp.The medallion had started glowing.Reina felt its heat from a few feet away, warm and comforting.It surrounded Austyn, making him shimmer a little, like he wasn’t quite real, but only a trick of the light on a hot day
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]