Read Online Diary of a Conjurer by D. L. Gardner - Free Book Online Page A

I'll never
see them again.”
    “I don't understand,” Kaempie said.
    “There was a horrendous storm. The tempest
pounded on our ship as though Hades itself sought its destruction.
We were certain we were doomed. The main mast split like kindling.
Tossed violently by a raging sea, our ship took a lunge for the
heavens and then dove toward the devil's caldron, spilling out of
our world into this one. It sounds incredible, I know. But believe
it or not, that's what happened. Armel and Hermaz think we’ve been
spat into the pit of Shoal.”
    The pit of shoal? Kaempie didn't
understand some of this man's imagery, but the emotion behind it
said enough. “This shoal—it must be a terrible place, then.”
    “It’s a cursed place of eternal
torture.”
    Armel and Hermaz climbed the last rise and
approached breathless.
    “Well, Jacques, I think your friends might
be wrong. There are terrible things that happen here, but there are
good things, too.”
    Jacques shrugged. “I've yet to see any. You
believe me?”
    “I believe you came through a portal,”
Kaempie whispered. He saw nothing unusual in the direction Jacques
had pointed. The renegade’s ship moored near the cove and he noted
that some repair had been made to the broken mast. Perhaps they
planned on using it again.
    Off in the distance, a brilliant glow lit up
the horizon, and then the entire coastline across from them burst
into flame. Alcove forest was on fire. Kaempie’s heart stopped.
    Silvio and Reuben would have traveled that
far by now.
    Smoke curled into the sky in billowing black
puffs.
    “Wow,” Jacques whispered. “That’s some fire.
I wonder what caused it?”
    It wasn’t lightning, that’s for sure. Not on
a clear cool day. It wasn’t heat, either. “Maybe a dagger,” Kaempie
whispered, not meaning for Jacques to hear.
    “The ground is level here . Let’s make
camp.” Armel said, dropping the pack from his shoulders. “I’ve had
a hard day.”
    The sun was sinking like a red fireball into
the sea. The fog that formed over the water would soon be rolling
into the foothills, making travel difficult if not impossible. By
Kaempie’s estimation, they were no more than an hour’s walk to
their destination.
    “Alright,” he said. “Let’s sleep. We can
survey the village before dawn.”
    Jacques and Hermaz rolled out their
bedrolls. Armel gathered wood.
    “Not tonight.” Kaempie warned.
    The man scowled. “I’m cold.”
    “And if you make a fire, you’ll be dead
before the sun is up.”
    He stood with his bundle staring
rebelliously at Kaempie.
    “The natives will see your fire. They’re not
hospitable to strangers. That I know.”
    Armel threw the wood on the ground, looking
to his friends to interject, but no one did. Jacques was already
wrapped in his blanket and Hermaz snored under his fleece. Armel
mumbled something inaudible and laid his bedroll on the ground.
    Kaempie had no plans of sleeping. He’d stay
up with the crickets and the night owl, keeping watch. As exhausted
as he was, his pounding heart kept him awake. Fear that Silvio and
Reuben may have died in the hands of Hacatine turned his stomach.
If she had taken their powers, she’d be even stronger now. But
worse was the guilt that weighed on his heart. Kaempie, being the
oldest, was supposed to have protected his friends.
    Dusk fell into dark. The day’s warmth
tapered into a chill, and then a crisp wind picked up. Stars
appeared, but quickly faded as clouds moved swiftly from the
northwest. A low whistle, and then a deep pining melody filled his
hearing. He glanced at the three men wrapped in their blankets,
snoring, and oblivious to danger.
    “ Kaempie, Kaempie ,” the wind
called.
    Kaempie lifted his head and listened.
     
    Our breath calls your name.
    Your peace sings the same
    Wisdom transcends the power of light
    Completing the day, fulfilling the night
    Join in our strength, our freedom and
might
    Release now your magic, be one in our
fight.
     
    A