Read Online Ascendant by Craig Alanson - Free Book Online

Curious. Most curious. ” Paedris closed his eyes
and felt for the lingering power which permeated the area, the water,
the rocks, the trees. The power was raw, uncontrolled, and frighteningly
strong. The air fairly crackled with connection to the spirit realm. Stronger
than any power Paedris had ever felt before, certainly stronger than any magic
he had been able to handle himself. And there was something else, separate,
something right at the edge of his senses, something sour, and dark, and evil.
That power he recognized, and he feared. “ Consider
this. A bear, a wild animal that should only be looking to survive in the
wilderness, for no good reason attacks a boat full of armed guards, and charges
straight for Ariana. Of all the people in the boat, it concentrates on her.
Then, this terrible beast who knocked aside three well-armed royal guards- “
    “ Forgive me, Lord Salva,
but it was hardly a fair fight- “
    “ Never interrupt a wizard
when he is thinking! ” Paedris roared, using the tiniest bit of magic to add emphasis to his words.
    The soldier
fell to one knee and bowed his head. “ Forgive
me, my lord. ”
    “ Forgiven. You accounted
very well for yourself. This was no ordinary bear, you faced a dark and foul
magic, and faced it bravely. Now, where was I? ” Being mildly absent-minded did seem to be
typical of wizards. “ Ah,
yes. So, this terrible, magic-spelled beast is then scared away by a boy, a
young boy, all by himself. This boy who rescued Ariana from a bear, and a
raging river and a gang of bandits. Not bad for a morning ’ s work, eh? I shall need
to speak with this boy, as soon as possible. ”
    “ I, uh, I beg to remind
you, my lord, the boy was shot. By mistake. And he was almost drowned. Our
captain fears he will not survive the day. ”
    “ Oh, ” Paedris said with a smile
and a twinkle in his eye, “ I
think the court wizard of Tarador may be able to do something about that. ”

CHAPTER
THREE
     
    “ How is the boy? ” Carlana asked quietly as
she leaned into the doorway.
    Paedris rose
from the chair beside Koren ’ s
bed, the wizard had sat with the boy through the night. “ He will live. ” Paedris said simply. “ The wound was not deep,
the arrow hit his shoulder blade, I healed it as best I could. He did lose a
lot of blood, I recommend he drink a broth of beef and vegetables when he
awakens. For now, he is in a deep healing sleep. ”
    “ Very well. ” Carlana didn ’ t need her court wizard to
tell her the best remedy to recover from blood loss. She looked out into the
hallway, and gestured to dismiss her maids. “ Who is he?"
    “ I don ’ t know, we don ’ t even know his name. From
his clothing and the pack we found, I would say he is a peasant, but that doesn ’ t answer what he was doing
alone in the woods. The guards searched the woods and found a camp site, the
boy had been living there for a week or more. ”
    “ Hmmmm. This boy, and a
pack of bandits have been using Duke Yarron ’ s private hunting reserve as their
campgrounds, for more than a week? ” Carlana asked with a twinkle in her eye. “ I
think the Duke ’ s
sheriff is going to have much to explain. ”
    Paedris did
not care about whether people were poaching on the duke ’ s lands. “ There is one thing of
which we must speak. I don ’ t
know who this boy is, or where he came from, but he is a wizard, the most
powerful wizard I have ever known. ”
    “ What? You are sure? ” Carlana bit her lip. She
saw the look in her wizard ’ s
eyes.
      Fear.
    Paedris was
afraid, afraid of this boy.
    “ There can be no mistake
about it. He stopped that bear, without having any idea how he did it. The fact
that the Wizards Council knew nothing of this boy, right here in our midst, is
deeply troubling! ”
    “ You didn ’ t know about him? ” Carlana frowned. The boy
had saved her daughter, three times in one morning. By rights, she should at
least grant the boy a knighthood and a hundred acres