Shadow Mage (Blacklight Chronicles) Read Free Page A

Cavares glared at Talis as if he were mad.  
    “Where do you draw that kind of power from? The black crystal?”
    “It’s too far away.” Talis gestured towards the fire in the hearth. “Master Grimelore taught me to bring in power from flames. And what I saw in my mind was what I’ve experienced before.”
    “Like the ancient tongue, close to the original source of truth.”
    What did she mean by that? She was always talking in riddles.  
    “You’ve succeeded in casting your first binding spell. It will be easier now for you to progress. But be warned, binding is all about your thoughts and imagination…so control yourself. A lazy, untempered mind makes a dangerous combination with bindings.”
    “What does this have to do with Rune Magic?”
    “It’s time for your first lesson.” She motioned at the table. “The ancient art of casting magical wards.” As she lifted a rune, slivers of silver light spidered out of her fingers and into the rune. “A magical ward is created through the combination of a rune and a binding spell cast upon the object on which that rune is drawn.”  
    The light from her fingers grew stronger and bored into the characters etched on the rune. The clay tablet melted away into ash, and a faint glow of silver remained on the table. “The ward is locked onto the location where the rune lay. I’ve cast a Rune of Paralysis. The next person to touch this spot will be paralyzed. Care to try it?”
    Talis shook his head and found himself stepping away from the table. He heard a meowing sound and glanced over just as Kalix, Mistress Cavares’s cat, sauntered across the table.
    “No Kalix!” Mistress Cavares said, and scooped up the cat. “You know you’re not supposed to sneak inside my workshop.” She scratch the cat’s head and under his chin, and Kalix purred loudly.
    Talis smiled and went to pet the cat, but his movement seemed to spook Kalix. In a sudden jerk, the cat leapt from Mistress Cavares’s arms, and landed directly on the spot where the rune was placed. Kalix froze like a stuffed animal, eyes frightened, tail pointing straight up, body as rigid as a stone sculpture.
    “My poor kitty,” cried Mistress Cavares. She scrambled around Talis and held Kalix in her arms. “You must be more careful with Kalix, she spooks easily.”
    “Is she dead?”
    Mistress Cavares sighed like she’d had enough of teaching him. “Don’t you know what a Paralysis Spell does? It’s temporary. Kitty will be fine in an hour or so. This isn’t the first time he’s stepped on a ward. He has a nose for finding them. One day I fear he’ll step on the wrong ward….”
    She stared into the fire, then sighed and lifted herself up. “Now it’s your turn, prove your ability to cast wards. Choose the runes, practice on the table. And please try and keep your power down to a minimum. I don’t want you blowing up the workshop.”

3. TANDRIA SCROLL
     

    That afternoon Talis meandered towards the Temple of the Sun, thinking of magical wards. Could he set wards around the city to protect Naru? Did wards activate for anyone, or could you set them to go off only on enemies? Questions spun around in his head. He couldn’t believe he was actually looking forward to his next lesson with Mistress Cavares.  
    The Temple of the Sun looked aged and weathered perched atop the newly created hillside, formed at the planting of the black crystal. Although it was only six months old, the temple complex seemed as if it had been there for hundreds of years. Flowers and grass blossomed all around, particularly around the black oak tree. The spring still nurtured the meadows and gardens around the temple.
    Talis took a drink of the water and relished the sweet taste. As he stared up at the wooden temple, scenes of the old temple complex and the Goddess Nacrea played in his head. How he missed the Goddess. Her power and beauty and light. Would he ever see her again?
    The City of Naru stood as a shadow