Read Online Night of the Eye by Mary Kirchoff - Free Book Online Page B

that he had the chance to learn of it. “Is it as dangerous as I’ve heard? Long? Costly?”
    Chuckling, Belize held up his hands as if to fend off the barrage of questions. “Slow down. First, the Test is different for everyone, tailored to the entrant. Second, it is always difficult. Third, it can last for days, or minutes, depending on the ability of the mage. Fourth, the cost is only that the mage must pledge his life to magic.”
    “Mages have passed the Test in minutes?”
    “I did not say they passed.”
    Guerrand looked for Belize to continue, but the mage did not. “What happens to those who fail?”
    “Failure means death.”
    Guerrand blinked. “Do many fail?”
    “Only the weak and unready.”
    Guerrand stood to pace around his chair. “Why me?”
    “You might think of me as a recruiter,” said Belize. “I seek to increase the role and status of magic in the world by finding and nurturing worthwhile mages. It is my way of giving something back to the art that has been my entire life. And I have some influence with the council. I could certainly put in a good word for you.”
    “Do you take apprentices?”
    Belize responded with no hint of apology. “No, I’m not well suited to it. I have many other responsibilities, and I spend too much time … traveling.”
    Guerrand was not sure what he had expected, but he felt somehow let down, awkward for having asked. “Well, then,” he stumbled, “where and when must I go to apprentice to a learned mage?”
    “Immediately.”
    “You mean immediately after my wedding.”
    “I mean today—tomorrow at the latest.”
    The shock on Guerrand’s face was clear. “But that’s impossible!” he gasped. “You know I’m to be wed in four days. Surely it can wait until after that.”
    “You will be starting a completely new life, and the life you now live will be wiped away. As an apprentice, you would have no way to support a wife and no time to spend with her. From what I’ve heard of your betrothed, she would not even consider working in a scullery to pay her own way. And what would be the point of marrying, just so you could immediately abandon your new wife?” A slight smile creased Belize’s face. “Besides, I doubt your brother Cormac would stand for that.
    “As for your family,” Belize continued, folding his arms across his chest, “think how much more valuable to them you might be, returning home as a skilled wielder of magic. Marrying this woman from Hillfort will ease your brother’s problems only temporarily. If you marry for Cormac’s sake, are you providing him with a permanent solution or simply curing a symptom? Like a tourniquet around the neck of a beheaded man.”
    Guerrand winced at the inevitable image. “You know nothing of Cormac’s problems!”
    Belize arched a thick brow. “Do you?”
    Guerrand sighed. “So you’re telling me that I would do my family a greater service by backing out of my pledge to marry?”
    “I’ve said only that you should go to Wayreth and become apprenticed to a real master. It is the only way you will advance.”
    The mage leaned forward, putting his face quite close to Guerrand’s. “The Tower of Wayreth is a powerfully enchanted place. It is in the southwestern forests of the Qualinesti elves, but it can be found only bythose who have been specifically invited. I am inviting you. That is a privilege that will not last indefinitely, and it may not be extended again.” Belize paused, expressionless, and sat back. “But your life path is for you to choose. Many men are happy as merchants.”
    Guerrand could see easily what Belize was doing, and he resented it. Belize had reawakened a hope that Guerrand had long ago suppressed. Yet, it was all as impossibly far from his grasp as ever—farther, even. Cormac would never release him from the agreement to marry, and he could not simply slip away afterward or take Ingrid along.
    Guerrand felt crushed, as if he had reached the mountaintop only