Mind Forged: Book One of the Enchanters of Xarparion Read Free Page A

expecting upon her death, she heard a fierce renewal of metal on metal, actually more like thunderclaps on metal. As the booming sounds reverberated everywhere, the ground under her even seemed to shake. Suddenly Maya felt herself pulled back on her feet.
    A s her vision cleared, she saw a knightly figure in pure white armor next to her. He carried a huge tower shield with no heraldry markings that was taller than she was! The crest of his helm rose above the top of the massive shield by at least another two feet; he was a giant of a man. In his other hand, he wielded an enormous white war hammer similar to what she had seen some bands of dwarves use, only this one was twice as large. Without even a glance in her direction, he tucked her inside the protective area of his shield and continued to use the hammer to great effect, spinning their position to counter the threats from all sides. Maya watched in amazement as with every hit, the hammer sent out a wave of force that shattered not only the undead targeted, but those around it as well. Breather over, Maya slid out from behind the relative safety of the knight’s tower shield and took up position at his back, her strength and courage renewed.
    Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the undead being mowed down relentlessly by the knight, even the ghouls and wights were no match for the hammer and splattered like rotten fruit against a stone wall. For what seemed like hours they fought on until Maya dispatched one last shoeless peasant corpse, slicing through its spine and cleaving it in half. Spinning to help her benefactor, she found he was gone and she was alone, alone in a sea of smashed and dismembered bodies - an undead army no more. Collapsing to her knees in tears, Maya gasped and beat her sword on the ground, and then tossing it aside, with her clenched fists again and again in futility against the bloody ground in despair, and finally, mercifully, she awoke.

Chapter 2
    Alex
    I woke up the next morning to the sounds of someone in the next room. Looking out my window, I realized that it was way past daybreak, the normal time I get up. I sat up quickly, still a little drained and unsteady. Clearing my head with a large drink of water, I got dressed and flew out the door to get to work. But when I got to the forge, I couldn’t find Dad, and the fire hadn’t even been stirred up. Confused, I went back inside to find that it was my mother who was making all the noise.
    “ Why are you here and not at work today?” I asked her.
    She looked up from whatever she was baking , plastered back her auburn hair that was starting to gray and smiled. “I was given today off and your father was called into town this morning. From the sounds of it, Miss Stal is at it again.” I snatched a handful of dried apple slices out of the bag on the counter that she was about to use for apple dumplings if my analysis of her readied ingredients was correct. Today would be a very good day!
    Just then there was a knock at the door . Mother stopped what she was doing, brushed the coarse flour off her hands, and went to get it. When she opened the door, there was an older man in an expensive black robe. He had a smiling face accented with laugh lines and blue sparkling eyes. Behind him stood two hooded figures, one in black and the other in white. The old man spoke first. “Greetings, Mrs. Martin, I am the Headmaster of the wizard’s academy.” I thought my mother was going to faint, as I saw her knees sag. I caught her arm to steady her as she spoke.
    “ Um, hello, sir…Headmaster, what can we do for you?”
    I watched as the figure in white, who was quite a bit taller than the headmaster and quite animated, seemed to be trying to get around him and through the door. Just when it seemed like he/she was about to sneak under an arm and spring into our kitchen uninvited, the headmaster abruptly dropped his arm effectively blocking the attempt. He glanced back with a look of