Book of One 04: A Child of Fire Read Free Page A

he may have very little time to learn it. Whatever happens, we must see what he will become, of his own accord. And do not worry. Aaron may be hiding his power, but the wind will find him, and so will we."
    "I am just glad he left his things behind," Stavros said, reaching under his grey cloak and pulling out a book. "I had no idea he was carrying this accursed thing around all this time."
    They had found the book in Aaron's pack and even though Stavros was unwilling to test its magic, he was convinced that the power of the book had affected the ward, causing its magic to twist, and inflicting great pain on the boy. The effect the book might have had on him was something the two mages, Zachary and Stavros, and the two goddesses, Ehlena and Carly, had debated at length. Even though there might be some use to learning more about the book, they had all agreed not to open it for fear of alerting the god, whose mind was connected to it. They also worried that destroying it might have the same effect so Ehlena had suggested that they should take it with them, hinting that she might know of another way of dealing with it.
    "It is curious that he should have had it," Ehlena said with a frown. "I told you that Aaron showed it to me once, before I became one with the goddess."
    "Yes, and it was fortunate that you did not look upon its contents in your current form."
    "I doubt it would have affected me, but letting the book see me would have given away too much. As far as this supposed one god knows, I am little more than some foolish young girl, and I prefer he continue to think that."
    "I wonder how much he knows about Aaron," Stavros mused. "Hopefully the ward prevented the book from seeing too much of his life. There are many ways one can be manipulated and while I do not have the first idea about the personality of this god and what effect it might have upon him, not to mention that Cerric himself is certainly not above toying with people's lives."
    "I would rather he did not toy with Aaron. His life is finally his own, and his choices are his alone to make." Ehlena stared at the mage, the glistening deep blue green of her eyes becoming almost a steely grey as her expression became hard and serious. "Stavros, we must help Aaron, and we may offer him guidance, but we cannot interfere with his decisions. That is the one thing I am most concerned about."
    "You have said this before," the old mage commented. "Is there some reason for concern?"
    "There is," Ehlena replied. "But one does not need a reason to respect the will of another."
    "That is true," Stavros agreed, though he was not sure exactly why the girl-goddess would continue to belabor a point she had already made numerous times, but he was willing to accept the wisdom in her words, regardless of what her unspoken reasons might be.

CHAPTER TWO
     
     
    The stands of the arena were empty and a warm wind whisked away the last traces of the many footsteps of the warriors, who had fought on the dirt floor among the stone circles the night before. The blood of their battles dried and crumbled, fading into the sand and would soon be scoured away by the dry desert wind. The contest finished, another king was named, but the talk among the people was of the warrior from the north, whose power they had only glimpsed but they knew it was greater than even the strongest who had fought at the Warrior's Palace that night.
    Kasha knelt down at the edge of the circle and felt the stone that was embedded deep into the earth. It still hummed with energy from the brief burst of true fire that had nearly overwhelmed its protective magic. She was surprised when he had entered the match, not expecting to see him here at Ba'shan, let alone in the circles, but she was already aware of the potential of his power, though she wondered if he knew it as well.
    "It is forbidden to use true power in the circles," Lento said, looking at the ground where Kasha's hand rested on the stone circle.
    "When was it