Read Online A Bad Spell in Yurt - Wizard of Yurt - 1 by C. Dale Brittain - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: C. Dale Brittain
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suddenly.
"They always speak wel of you," I said with my best effort at Christian tact. "They've told me many times how much they admired your work and your il usions. The Lady down in the val ey is certainly the finest example I've ever seen, even in the City."
I probably shouldn't have mentioned the City, because it made him snort. "Il usions!" he said. "Things were different when King Haimeric's grandfather was king. Then a Royal Wizard had real responsibilities. The harvest spel s were just the start of it."
"Harvest spel s!" I said in panic. I knew I didn't know anything that could be considered a harvest spel . In an urban setting, we learned urban spel s.
"And now they don't even want harvest spel s any more," continued the old wizard, paying no attention to me. "They say that hybrid seed is more effective. The closest I've come for years is the weather spel s when they're cutting the wheat."
This was a relief. Weather spel s I could probably manage. I had even gone to the lectures. I tried a different approach. "Have you ever taught anyone how to fly?"
"Fly? You mean someone who isn't a wizard? Who wants to learn magic now ?"
"The king mentioned it," I said, but I was struck by the suggestion that someone else had apparently wanted to learn magic.
"Wel , he never mentioned it to me. And with good reason. He knew what I'd say. Haimeric's not half the man his grandfather was, or his father either. Never marrying al those years, and then marrying late. If he expected an heir, he's certainly disappointed. But I must say, I don't think he married in the hope of having a baby. I think he married because he was just besotted."
I tried to return the topic to the question of who in the castle, besides me, might know magic. "So some of the others had asked you to teach them magic?"
"Wel , Dominic and Maria did," he said shortly. After a somewhat long pause, he added, "Never got anywhere with it."
"Prince Dominic and the Lady Maria?" Somehow I would not have expected it.
"There was talk of them making a match four years ago," continued the old wizard, in a more pleasant tone. "Maria's the queen's aunt, you know."
I nodded, waiting for him to go on.
"When the king got married four years ago, the queen brought her old maiden aunt to live with her--probably thought she needed a change. And then Dominic's only a few years younger than she is. He's been heir presumptive for years; the king's younger brother, at least, had the sense to get married when he was young. But he's gone now too, and Dominic's not half the man his father was."
Apparently I had reached Yurt in a decadent time.
"But she was too flighty for someone that phlegmatic. If the queen was waiting for a match, I think she gave up waiting some time ago."
While these insights into the people in the castle were extremely interesting, I could not help but notice that he had again deftly turned the topic away from the question of to whom he had taught magic.
I I
While we had been talking, the bril iant blue of the sky was darkening. An abrupt clap of thunder, apparently coming from just behind the wizard's house, startled me so much that I jumped to my feet. "It looks like rain," said the old wizard complacently. "You'd better get your horse; it wil stay dry enough under the oak here. And don't worry about my Arrows!" he cal ed after me as I hurried back up the val ey. "You won't be shot this time."
It certainly wouldn't be hard for him to guess that I had been wondering if I could bring my mare safely past that shower of arrows. And I didn't think it could have been much harder for him to bring on a thunderstorm to demonstrate his power.
My mare had her head up, waiting for me. Chil little breezes flicked her mane, and there was a steady low rumbling from the sky. I led her by the bridle back down the val ey, past the place where the arrows had been shooting, and around the final twist to the clearing where the wizard's house stood under the sheltering
"They always speak wel of you," I said with my best effort at Christian tact. "They've told me many times how much they admired your work and your il usions. The Lady down in the val ey is certainly the finest example I've ever seen, even in the City."
I probably shouldn't have mentioned the City, because it made him snort. "Il usions!" he said. "Things were different when King Haimeric's grandfather was king. Then a Royal Wizard had real responsibilities. The harvest spel s were just the start of it."
"Harvest spel s!" I said in panic. I knew I didn't know anything that could be considered a harvest spel . In an urban setting, we learned urban spel s.
"And now they don't even want harvest spel s any more," continued the old wizard, paying no attention to me. "They say that hybrid seed is more effective. The closest I've come for years is the weather spel s when they're cutting the wheat."
This was a relief. Weather spel s I could probably manage. I had even gone to the lectures. I tried a different approach. "Have you ever taught anyone how to fly?"
"Fly? You mean someone who isn't a wizard? Who wants to learn magic now ?"
"The king mentioned it," I said, but I was struck by the suggestion that someone else had apparently wanted to learn magic.
"Wel , he never mentioned it to me. And with good reason. He knew what I'd say. Haimeric's not half the man his grandfather was, or his father either. Never marrying al those years, and then marrying late. If he expected an heir, he's certainly disappointed. But I must say, I don't think he married in the hope of having a baby. I think he married because he was just besotted."
I tried to return the topic to the question of who in the castle, besides me, might know magic. "So some of the others had asked you to teach them magic?"
"Wel , Dominic and Maria did," he said shortly. After a somewhat long pause, he added, "Never got anywhere with it."
"Prince Dominic and the Lady Maria?" Somehow I would not have expected it.
"There was talk of them making a match four years ago," continued the old wizard, in a more pleasant tone. "Maria's the queen's aunt, you know."
I nodded, waiting for him to go on.
"When the king got married four years ago, the queen brought her old maiden aunt to live with her--probably thought she needed a change. And then Dominic's only a few years younger than she is. He's been heir presumptive for years; the king's younger brother, at least, had the sense to get married when he was young. But he's gone now too, and Dominic's not half the man his father was."
Apparently I had reached Yurt in a decadent time.
"But she was too flighty for someone that phlegmatic. If the queen was waiting for a match, I think she gave up waiting some time ago."
While these insights into the people in the castle were extremely interesting, I could not help but notice that he had again deftly turned the topic away from the question of to whom he had taught magic.
I I
While we had been talking, the bril iant blue of the sky was darkening. An abrupt clap of thunder, apparently coming from just behind the wizard's house, startled me so much that I jumped to my feet. "It looks like rain," said the old wizard complacently. "You'd better get your horse; it wil stay dry enough under the oak here. And don't worry about my Arrows!" he cal ed after me as I hurried back up the val ey. "You won't be shot this time."
It certainly wouldn't be hard for him to guess that I had been wondering if I could bring my mare safely past that shower of arrows. And I didn't think it could have been much harder for him to bring on a thunderstorm to demonstrate his power.
My mare had her head up, waiting for me. Chil little breezes flicked her mane, and there was a steady low rumbling from the sky. I led her by the bridle back down the val ey, past the place where the arrows had been shooting, and around the final twist to the clearing where the wizard's house stood under the sheltering
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