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

turn against him. He was a jerk, but he was their jerk, and he was happy to remind them just how corrupted his thinking was at times. James, on the other hand, wasn’t quite ready to bear his all in front of others, even to those close to him.
    “What’s my father got to do with anything?” James asked.
    “Whenever I think about your father,” Korey sighed. “And it’s a lot –”
    “- sounds sketchy.”
    “- I think about him trying to grow corn on that fertile ground and how he still hasn’t managed to do it. I know you didn’t get your money from him, so I was wondering what he actually sells. The clothes on his back? The food he secretly buys from the market? That’s gotta be it. It would explain why you ran outside so fast. You must be starving!”
    “We’re doing fine actually…somehow. I think my dad has a side job he’s not telling me about. There’s no way he could still own the farm with what he grows. His savings have to be shot by now. I don’t know how he manages.”
    “Can’t be a side job,” Korey said. “Small village like this? Too many people would know who he is. Do you have a job you’re not telling anyone about?”
    Jennings burst out laughing.
    “Good point,” Korey said. “Well, about your dad then. Did you ask him how he keeps the farm afloat? I mean, you have that house. It’s not the castle or anything, but it’s still the biggest house in the village.”
    “I asked him once,” James said flatly, looking over to Jennings. “But he just yelled out that farming is all he needs or something. I didn’t really hear the whole thing.”
    “Typical,” Jennings muttered. “Hey look, there’s the restaurant.”
    The restaurant was actually Sally Marie’s house. Sure, the place was small, and in serious need of expansion, but that didn’t stop the villagers from crowding into any vacant chair or corner they could find. By clearing out the first floor and replacing all th e furniture with wooden tables and cushioned chairs, every room but the kitchen had become a dining room. Legend had it that she slept on the roof when the place closed down for the night. The villagers whispered that the Maker himself bestowed recipes from Paradise upon her while she slept up there. Her food was so good, even the most ornery of villagers swore to its authenticity.
    And no one would dare speak against her for she was nothing short of an angel with her great sacrifices and sharing of wealth. The wealth being her abundant knowledge in the fried and greasy arts . Stuff and Gorg e had been an instant success upon its opening and had been in business before James and his friends were born. Jennings used to tease Korey, saying that Sally Marie was secretly his grandmother and that that’s why he’d gotten doubly fat while the rest of the village were just fighting off a couple of fleshy tires. Korey rarely took offense to the insult. He genuinely wished they were family.
    “The line goes all the way out the door,” Korey whined when their destination came into view.
    “You expected different?” Jennings grunted in annoyance. He obviously had.
    “Still, it’s worth the wait. Seriously, where does she get all that food?”
    “Probably steals it from James’s dad. It’s why we never see the crops.”
    James chuckled, despite himself. Sally Marie had to have a deal with half of the farmers to be able to meet the demand.
    “I can’t say too much,” Korey said, rearing up on his tip-toes to see over Michael Crick’s ginormous head. He was a tall and wide theater director, ritually stuffing and gorging himself after a particularly atrocious rehearsal. Korey continued the conversation.
    “Can’t say much at all,” he repeated.
    “Why’s that?” James asked. He could care less if they made fun of his father.
    “I’d probably have nothing to sell if I was a farmer. I snack too much.”
    “Maybe…”
    “Ever thought about taking over the family business, James?”
    “Why? You