Read Online Air: Merlin's Chalice (The Children of Avalon Book 1) by Meredith Bond - Free Book Online

I realized just how far I was going to have to walk to reach our campfire and my dry clothes.
    Now would be an excellent time to turn back into a bird so that I could fly back to the fire, but there wasn’t an ounce of energy left in me. I could hardly walk.
    Sir Dagonet, too, was pale with exhaustion, but he turned and put his arm around me and supported me all the way back. Resting my head against his shoulder, I forced myself to place one foot in front of the other. Oddly enough, Dylan looked ready to drop as well—even though he didn’t have a drop of water on him.
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    “I don’t understand how we ended up in the river,” I said, dropping to the ground after coming out of the woods where I’d changed into dry clothing. I was still tired. All of my muscles ached, protesting every move I made, but at least my initial exhaustion was beginning to wear off.
    “Nor do I. Quite odd, wot? I woke up in the water.”
    “So did I.” I looked over at Dylan, who was seeing to his horse. “And yet Dylan wasn’t pulled in at all.”
    “He was on the far side of the fire, away from the water, don’t you know?” Sir Dagonet explained.
    I nodded, remembering that that had been the case. Lucky.
    Dylan rejoined us. Was it odd that he didn’t make eye contact with either me or Sir Dagonet? If only he would look at me I would…ah, no. I remembered that I couldn’t hear Dylan’s thoughts. If only I knew what he was thinking…
    Sir Dagonet was nibbling at a piece of bread. It was a good idea. I was famished. I reached into my bag for the bread I’d brought with me. “I’m still quite tired from the water and, I suppose, from flying.”
    Sir Dagonet nodded, a little twinkle lighting up his eyes. “Not surprising. That was a lot of magic you did, wot?”
    I stopped as the realization of what I’d done hit me. Whenever I had performed magic it had been intentional, conscious. How had this suddenly become something I just did naturally? It had felt good. Normal. I couldn’t help shaking my head in astonishment.
    “Doing magic makes you tired?” I asked.
    “Oh, yes. Weren’t you tired after removing my sword from the tree?”
    “Yes, I was.”
    Sir Dagonet nodded. “Using magic is like using your muscles. It takes strength and energy, but the more you do it, the easier it becomes.” He paused to take a drink from his water skin. “I can take off and put on my armor without a thought because I do it every day, but ask me to move something larger or heavier and it would take a great deal out of me, don’t you know.”
    I nodded. “That makes sense. It doesn’t take any energy for me to hear what other people are thinking because I do it all the time, but, as you say, I was very tired after moving the sword, and I’m still exhausted from turning into a bird.”
    “What do you mean, ‘hear’ what other people are thinking?” Dylan asked, his eyes widening a little.
    I gave a guilty little shrug. “When I look into someone’s eyes, I…I just know what they are thinking at that moment—except for you. I tried to hear your thoughts yesterday but couldn’t for some reason,” I admitted rather sheepishly. “Normally I know right away what someone is thinking when I look at them, but from you there was absolute silence.”
    He nodded, his expression serious. “I keep my mind closed to others. You should, too, if you can.”
    “You keep your mind closed?” I asked, amazed that such a thing was possible.
    “That’s handy! How did you learn to do such a thing?” Sir Dagonet asked, clearly as intrigued, and possibly as suspicious, as I was now.
    Why would someone always have such protection, like armor covering their mind, as if they were expecting someone to attack them at any time? It seemed like an unnecessary precaution—unless you had something to hide.
    Dylan shrugged. “I just figured it out. My tutor could listen in on the thoughts of others, so I learned to block out her intrusions.”
    A laugh