The Last of the Sages (Sage Trilogy, Book 1) Read Free

if the new Teleport comic book would actually came out on schedule as the creator promised it would. This time, however, it was all about the Academy, and the influx of worry was so strong, it felt like the levees were going to crumble and he was going to lose himself in a never-ending depression.
    The Academy.
    That Maker-forsaken hell.
    That suicide mission.
    The recruits worked so hard to defend a Kingdom that never seemed to be attacked, and wasn’t really worth protecting…and all for what? He had heard that nearly half of the recruits didn’t even survive the training. What kind of regiment was that?
    James sucked his teeth in disdain and pressed the pillow firmly to his ear as if he were closing the door to a vault. Shutting his eyes as tight as he could, he concentrated only on the darkness engulfing his vision. Before he knew it, he was asleep…
    …“we should get some lunch,” a voice said from a distance, breaking through his subconscious. “I had cereal for breakfast. You know how that stuff goes through me.”
    “I know. It digests in like half an hour.”
    “At least you get a half hour. I feel like I’m eating air.”
    “Doesn’t your Mom make you bacon and eggs anymore? You used to brag about that every morning while I had to suffer on porridge.”
    “She says I gotta watch my weight. No girl’s going to want me if I’m fat.”
    “You r Mom said that ? That’s kinda harsh.”
    “She’s just saying that cuz she wants me to get married, eventually get a job and take care of her someday.”
    “It’s still weird for a mom to say.” The voice stopped. James was vaguely aware of some scraping of shoes on the gravel outside of his window. There was a moment of silence.
    “There goes my stomach again…”
    “ That was your stomach? ! ” the second voice cried in alarm. “Sheesh, I thought it was a gopher or something.”
    “How do you know what a gopher sounds like? Do you even know what a gopher is?”
    “Hey, just thought of something…since we’re here, shouldn’t we see if James wants some lunch too?”
    “What time is it?”
    A pause.
    “Two o’ clock. Prime cheeseburgers with extra onions, lettuce, mayo and mustard with a side of cheesy waffle fries time.”
    “Then we shouldn’t bother. It’s not even four in the afternoon. You know he’s never awake before then.”
    “Then how does he get to school?”
    “Most days he doesn’t. You know that.”
    “And he’s passing?”
    “No,” the voice said flatly.
    “Man, that’s cold. Shouldn’t you lower your voice? He might hear you.”
    “He knows who he is. He won’t care.”
    The voices trailed off as the last sentence drove James awake. There was no way he was going back to sleep now. And as slow as they walked, he figured he could perform his morning ritual and still catch up to them. Jennings was going to pay. He had to be the one who made that last comment. His mouth lacked a filter, and James suddenly had a mind to give him one. What right did he have passing judgment so casually? So what if James had told him he was a “slacker, born and raised?” That didn’t mean he could talk about him behind his back. It was time to settle the score…
    James rolled off the bed to his hands and knees, quickly busted out twenty push-ups, turned around to give the Maker a quick “thank you,” and then immediately launched himself to a pile of clothes, threw on his favorite leather jacket, and ran out of the room. He could still hear his friends talking at the street corner when he burst out of the house and hit the ground running.
    They had to be on their way t o Stuff and Gorg e , the only working restaurant in Allay. It was bound to be crowded, but no one seemed to mind. Not only was it the sole place to eat out, it was also very cheap and all-you-can-eat, which meant everyone in the Kingdom had this place to thank for the muffin top they called a stomach. James was grateful for his fast metabolism.
    It didn’t take