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

exasperation and then turned to face my mother with a renewed but strained smile.
    “ May we please come inside? This is not a conversation to be held in public.”
    Mom looked like she was going to turn them away , but instead, fearfully stepped to the side and let them enter. The Headmaster and the two hooded figures entered. Behind them I could see waiting in the yard, a older woman wearing the green robes of a earth wizard, a full wizard, not an apprentice or a tower staff buyer; next to her was a young girl who I recognized with long brown curly hair and blue eyes. I knew right away that she was named Julia and was from Miss Stal’s orphanage. Mom also spotted her. “Julia, what are you doing here, sweetie?” She knelt down and the young girl rushed into my mother’s arms and sobbed quietly, holding on for dear life. But if I was reading her expressions correctly, it appears they were tears of joy, not sorrow.
    I ’ve known Julia for a few years now; her parents owned a peddler’s wagon that toured from village to village selling fabrics, some tools and pots and pans. One day, not far from Foalshead, their wagon was set upon by bandits on a wooded trail, both parents were killed and the wagon taken. A local woodsman found Julia sitting in a small glen in the forest, talking quietly to the squirrels and rabbits that circled around her there. Some of the townspeople assumed she was a little “touched” and with no relatives, she ended up at the orphanage. She’s actually fourteen years old, but due to Miss Stal’s cooking, she can barely pass for twelve. Amazingly enough, even after all the emotional shock, heartache and horrible food, Julia is still a very bright, nice girl who is always smiling, looking for fun and hoping for a place to someday really call home.
    The earth wizard lady followed Julia in and we all moved into the sitting area. The Headmaster began to tell us why he was here. “Early this morning, we received a hysterical report from a Miss Stal, the keeper of the local orphanage, that her favorite cooking pot was demonically possessed. It seemed that whenever she tried to add anything to it, the pot slid out of her reach. As you no doubt know, this is rather odd for a pot. Our expert on the subject here,” he said, gesturing to the fidgeting person in white, “says that an enchantment was placed on it so that it would move if this Stal woman attempted to add any ingredients into it at all…oddly, anyone else could use the pot normally. Naturally, we found the entire account very intriguing.”
    By this time , the figure in white was literally hopping from foot to foot, either he/she was very excited or had to pee badly.
    Mother frowned at this display but was still confused. “That’s…um…very unfortunate, but what does this have to do with us? And why do you have Julia?”
    The Headmaster smiled, “Ah, you see, we found her at the orphanage during our investigation. I guess you could say I have a soft spot for orphans, so I test them every chance I get. She turned out to have some promise as an earth wizard, so at least I could save one of them from that life. As for you, it’s not so much you…as it is your son.”
    Mom ’s eyes grew wide. “What about Alex!”
    He raised his hand calmly in an attempt to settle her down. “He has done nothing wrong, Mrs. Martin, we just need to test him to see if this pot anomaly is a result of some latent magic Alex might have.” He took a deep breath and glared warningly at the figure in white, before he sighed and held out a small gray orb to me. I looked at mother; her expression was pained, but she nodded for me to take it. I reached out and accepted the orb from him; as soon it left his hand, it turned clear. After a few moments, the color changed to a smoky hue and then finally white, and not just any white but a bright glowing light that lit up the room.
    I didn ’t have long to marvel at the wonder I was now holding in my hand. The