Dark Tidings: Ancient Magic Meets the Internet Book 1 Read Free

effect, straightened his back and boomed, “THE SPELL SPELL!”
    “The spell spell?” repeated Tung. “That’s the world’s most powerful spell? Really?”
    A well-read man might have thought it sounded more like a lexicographer’s fantasy party than a great wizard legend. But Tung wasn’t a well-read man, so he thought ‘magic stutter’ and this made him laugh.
    Madrick spotted Tung’s lack of awe. The boy wasn’t even slightly impressed. How could he make this idiot understand the story’s importance? He considered explaining the nature of wizards, spells and magic scrolls. He considered telling the fool how a wizard loses the memory of a spell once he’s spoken it. He considered explaining that even the most skilful wizards must return to the spell scrolls to relearn spoken spells. He considered it, but decided it wasn’t worth the effort.
    “Scrolls are bleeding important you know. The more powerful the spell, the more bloodily important the scroll.”
    Because Tung was still giggling, the old man’s frustration was becoming apoplectic. Then, as if a switch had been turned off, the tittering stopped.
    “I know scrolls are important,” Tung said. “I know about these things.”
    “Only wizards, magicians and male witches know about these things,” insisted Madrick, silently adding ‘and maybe female witches’. However truth be told, the female of the species was a complete mystery to him.
    “And only wizards really, truly know.”
    “Wizards and me,” Tung persisted. He wasn’t sure if he should tell Madrick about the time he broke into the Sorebun Academy. It was a terrible idea to admit to his wrong-doing so, of course, he told the story.
    “I broke into the Sorebun School once. No one in their right mind would do it twice. I searched high and low for anything worth stealing. Eventually I found the scroll library.
    “Of course I got caught, but not before I discovered what you White Wizards actually spend your lives doing. You search the world for scrolls. The more you collect, the more powerful you become. And the more you collect, the fewer are left for the Black Wizards. It’s a good versus evil arms race.”
    “You, young man, have a very simplistic view of the world.”
    “Anyway,” Tung continued, “I was duly interrogated by the Great Grand Wizard himself. At first he suspected I belonged to the Order of Black Wizards. He thought I was there to steal the scrolls for that evil brotherhood. Mind you it didn’t take him long to discover that I was just a rather sad, common cutpurse. On that note, I was unceremoniously ejected from the building, but not before he’d blessed me with a few curses I’d prefer to forget, including one which did actually make me forget a lot of things. So you see, I do understand.”
    Tung was clearly pleased with himself, while Madrick, although somewhat taken aback, was thrilled his cellmate had some grasp of these mysteries. With renewed vigour, he pressed on with his tale.
    “The Spell Spell, what more could a wizard wish for? I had a big decision to make. I could hand over my discovery to the Academy and go down in the annals of history as the hero wizard who found the most powerful spell ever created. Or I could keep it for myself. It was an easy choice, really. Being a hero in the history books doesn’t put bread on the table, and anyway I was the one who found it so I decided to keep it for myself. Finders keepers and all that malarkey. I hid the scroll in my room and pondered the possibilities. I knew I couldn’t use it immediately without drawing attention to myself. I’d have to bide my time, otherwise the Great Grand Wizard would just steal it from me. He’s a sneaky man whose not to be trusted.”
    Madrick resembled a windmill in a hurricane, his arms gyrated and thrashed as he relived the saga.
    “Hold on a tick, Rick. If you have the most powerful spell in the universe, why not use the damned thing to escape?”
    “Well,” the old