Read Online SEARCH FOR THE LOST SOUL by Kattie McKinsey - Free Book Online Page A

hasn’t had any. In three hundred years he has
probably had quite a few mistresses.”
    “That is
true. It is said that he is a lusty man.”
    Chris
frowned. He didn’t like that piece of information; it fed into his fears for
Kelly. “So why doesn’t he have children? It wasn’t until just recently that
birth control became available. You would think that he should have had several
children over the years.”
    “I would
think so,” Leopold agreed. “But that still means nothing.”
    There was a
short silence before Chris thought of his next question. “I understand that
Loren had brothers. That he was the youngest son but he inherited the castle.”
He waited for Leopold to nod his affirmative before continuing. “So what
happened to them?”
    Leopold’s
forehead creased as he concentrated. “Well, I am not an expert on the history
of the family; Wynne would be a much better person to ask. But, from what I
understand he had three older brothers, I have heard that there may have been
some sisters but I know nothing about them, if they ever existed in the first
place.
    “Loren’s
oldest brother was named Connor. I understand that he died shortly after his
father, though of what cause I do not know. His brother Hugh married and had
several children but they all died in a fire while the children were quite
young. Val became a priest and had no children.”
    “So he has
no remaining family?”
    “Not so far
as I know. But, if he had sisters there may be some of their offspring around.
You would have to ask Wynne.”
    Chris
grunted; he was unhappy with the answers he was getting. They didn’t fit into
his picture of what he wanted Loren to be. Why, he asked himself, was he so distrustful
of the man? He had been nothing but accommodating. Was that the source of his
disquiet?
    He thought
of another question. “If these wizards are all so old, why doesn’t the world
know about them?”
    Leopold
laughed. “Wizards tend to keep a low profile. Loren tends to be the reclusive
type. Almost the only time that he leaves the castle is to attend a wizard’s
function or to rescue a witch who is in trouble with the local authorities.
    “I remember
when I was a young boy he told me a story about a friend of his who had the
magical talent though, as I understand it, he did not have enough power to put
him into the wizard society. Loren told me how this friend of his made his
living by selling potions and spells to the locals until one of his neighbors thought
that he deserved more than Loren’s friend was willing to give. If I remember
the story correctly this neighbor demanded that his friend perform some magics
that he did not approve of and when he refused he was killed.
    “I do
remember that Loren told me that men are a greedy bunch of people; they can not
help it, it is in their nature. I would assume that such stories are prevalent
throughout history and for this reason those of the wizardly persuasion keep a
low profile to protect themselves.”
    “Someone
with that much power could easily protect themselves from an attacker.”
    “True. But,
I know Loren. Killing is not something that he is comfortable with. I am not
saying that he will not do so when pressed but, well, the best example I can
think of is the mice. Castles tend to be overrun with mice but Loren refuses to
have a cat around as they kill mice.
    “Nor will he
allow conventional mousetraps to be used. He devised a special trap that keeps
the mice alive. Every day Eldon goes around, removes the mice, takes them out
into the fields, and lets them go. Personally I would kill the things but Loren
will not allow it.”
    “But he eats
meat.”
    “No he does
not. He allows it to be served to others but he will not eat it himself.”
    Chris
thought back to the two meals he had shared with Loren and had to admit that he
hadn’t seen the wizard eat any meat. He sighed and decided not to ask any more
questions at this time. He was certain that he would be