The Fifth Magic (Book 1) Read Free

closer.
    Erratic wind gusts and vortices tossed the ship during the final approach, and those waiting within the cavernous chamber scattered. With the lines creaking and groaning from the strain, the Serpent cleared the expansive opening with excessive speed. Again the wind gusted, catching the air bags in the gale. Into the stone floor the hull slammed, jolting all those aboard, before changing direction and being dragged back toward open air.
    "Cut the lines!" Kenward shouted, his voice high. "Quickly!"
    Moving with all the speed they could muster, the crew worked to cut the ropes. They would not be quick enough. Brother Vaughn would have jumped, but he was not strong enough. Others made the leap and landed on solid stone, but he remained rooted and would go where the ship went. The world stopped moving suddenly and completely. A deep boom rattled his being, and Brother Vaughn's eyes felt as if they might be torn from his head. When he opened them, his vision was blurred, and it took a moment to see the largest eye he'd ever seen gazing down upon him. The mighty verdant dragon, his head nearly as big as the ship, snorted and rattled the chamber, then roared. Brother Vaughn would always remember it as if the dragon had roared at him personally.
    Grateful for the leviathan's help, Brother Vaughn tried to be thankful while he pulled himself over the rail to drop onto the cavern floor. The dragon had stopped the Serpent from being dashed against the rocks, but he had also nearly deafened Brother Vaughn and risked giving him a heart attack. Men in white linen robes with shoes that shone even in the failing light approached.
    "I am Brother Vaughn."
    "Your people certainly know how to make an entrance," said a fat man with a lopsided grin.
    Sensi, Brother Vaughn presumed as he picked himself up from the cold stone.

Chapter 2
    Change threatens all that is and shall be met with fire.
    --Sensi, chamberlain to the lord chancellor
     
    * * *
     
    Diplomacy was made difficult by the lord chancellor's refusal to meet with Brother Vaughn. The best he could do was talk with the people at the market while trying to keep Kenward out of trouble, the latter of which was like trying to keep the wind from blowing.
    "For all of these," Kenward said to a gem merchant, "I will give you one of these." He produced a dried and preserved yet still lustrous saltbark leaf.
    "Do you think me a halfwit?" the man asked, his voice high and accent thick. The interaction did not go unnoticed, and guards moved closer to where they stood. Brother Vaughn had the distinct feeling he was being watched from above, and he gave Kenward a nudge.
    "I mean no offense," Kenward said. "This saltbark leaf will cure almost any ill and is considered as valuable as a life."
    The merchant made a show of being unconvinced but soon reconsidered. "Half," he said. "Because I cannot know it is real until it's needed."
    "It's real," Brother Vaughn said. "I was there when it was harvested, and I have seen the healing it can bring. It's real."
    "Half," Kenward said, "but I pick which half."
    The merchant cast Kenward a sideways glance then smiled, "Deal."
    With every stone selected, the merchant acted as if he were being robbed. This was apparently not all that unusual since the guards and other merchants ignored it.
    "How will Umair feed his children?" he cried.
    "Hold this, Sevon," Kenward said, but Sevon did not answer. Brother Vaughn turned, but the little man was nowhere to be seen.
    When Kenward had only one selection left to make, he was torn between a pretty, red stone growing out of a darker stone and a much smaller translucent stone with but a hint of green giving it color. His hand hovering near one then the other, Kenward read Umair's eyes. He grabbed the smaller greenish stone, feeling apprehensive, but Umair cried out as if he'd been assaulted. This the guards could not ignore, and they closed in on the merchant's shop.
    "What's the problem, Umair? Are you being robbed